One Percent Chance
by AkariZeriChana-newAmerica
Summary: A solo hybrid, Onyx, escapes from the school. The want her dead, she wants to find the flock. She lands in Forks, can the Cullens help her or will she be terminated? What will the flock think of her? Rated T, please R&R for previews.
1. Prolouge

One Percent Chance

Summary- When a new kid in town turns out to be an avian-hybrid runaway, with a haunting story and nightmarish creatures on her tail, Edward sympathizes with her. She, Edward and Bella soon develop a close friendship with her, trying to help her forget her past and protect her from her damaging memories. At the same time, Onyx searches for the only other experiments of her kind, the flock. She was created as a project meant to work alone, the flock was meant to work as a group. Onyx, who is now torn between her new life and her lifelong dream of meeting other bird kids, now faces a hard decision. To remain alone, one of a kind with friends, or to find others like her and help them.

Meanwhile, she still manages to feel completely alone in a group of thousands of people.

Prologue- My Personal Hell

Life.

Everything, every creature has a right to life. No matter what.

It's even in the Declaration of Independence, all men are created equal. Human rights, the United Nations, hundreds of groups across the world recognize humans rights to life.

One institution that doesn't?

The School.

My name is Onyx, and I'm often called Falcon. It's a joke, a sick joke because I have wings. I was _created,_ not born. I am not human. I think like one most of the time, I act like one pretty often, I look like one if I wear a coat, I can fool… anyone, _everyone,_ into thinking that I'm human. But that's not enough.

It was never enough.

Never… The School, is where I grew up. It's not a school at all, but a lab. Where other creatures like me are tortured and killed and _taken apart_, exterminated! Because we aren't human, so we don't have rights. Scientists all over the world experiment on rats, and they say we aren't so different. But all the mutants, we believe we are. And we want to make a stand, and object.

Like someone once said, 'no one change everything, but everyone change something'. I want people to here the story, so then together we can stop Itex. But before that, I need to escape. And because there is no time like the present, I'll return to the present…

My heart beat, faster, faster… could it go any faster? Surely it had to, I need more oxygen running through my body at the rate I was going. Could I go any faster? Surely not. My fastest doesn't ever seem to be fast enough.

My eyes widened as a white coat rushed out. He knocked into me, meaning to of course, my shoulder was tilted backwards, my center thrown of kilter, and I was twisted around to the side as I ran. His eyes widened to, because he knew what was going to happen before I did it. My one advantage. The one thing I could hardly ever control. But, I had been caught so off guard, that it just happened! The man suddenly found himself slammed against the opposite side, there was a sickening crack. I didn't even look back, not caring what happened to him. I winced. I hated using force like that… even if he did deserve it. I probably just bashed his skull in. Run, run! Run! Push yourself, I thought, squeezing every ounce of speed out of my legs.

I winced as another alarm sounded, digging in harder with my feet and shooting forward up the halls. I must remember this properly, I only have one shot. Down the halls, left, left, right, through the door, straight, left, straight, right, right, down the stairs, left, up the stairs, up more stairs, out the doors, right, right again…

At last!

The final set of double doors! So close I can taste it! My thoughts were bursting with happiness, hmm… what to do first, GET SOME FOOD OF COURSE! I burst out of the doors and extended my wings triumphantly. HAH! Take that you Itex assholes! I stuck my tongue out at the grounded Erasers as they waited for the new flying ones. But it was too late for them, they knew it to.

Once I got my wings out, there was no way they were going to catch me. I had… two little surprises, and here comes number two. A familiar bang sounded in my ears as I shot forward, easily flying the speed of a jet, and not those big chunky ones… um no, those ones that look like needles piercing the sky. Yeah… I flew with one of those, or rather just beneath one until the pilot flipped.

Miles of forest passed beneath me rapidly, my wings began to ache, and I slowed to a normal cruising pace of eighty miles per hour. The sun was rising. It was… serene, calm, beautiful… everything I had missed for so long. A noise caught my attention.

Oh the irony. I rolled my eyes, _a jet_. I snorted and dipped below the normal pilot's eyesight, they wouldn't see me unless they were specifically looking for me. The plane slowly turned, banking, banking, banking… still banking… still going…… yep, still turning…

OH SHIT!

The plane pulled out of it's spiral downward, pointed straight for me. _Itexicon_ was painted on the side. _FU**!_ I thought, cursing out loud. I poured on the speed, not holding back. A concussive banging noise followed as I accelerated up to maximum speed. My eyes watered, and my hair whipped around my face. I couldn't shake this guy! Evasive maneuvers… um, okay, what do I do, what do I do?! My mind was racing.

I dove.

Steep.

Straight down.

At more than five-hundred miles per hour.

"Go, go, go, go, go, go… GO GOD DAMNIT!" I was yelling at myself. Maybe I'm insane for talking to myself, but hell I call it motivation. I flew straight into some clouds and the cold liquid chilled me to the bone. _You've been through worse_, I told myself gritting my teeth, _this is nothing compared to School_.

No duh. Everyone has a point where they say, I can't keep going, I'm done, I surrender! Well, let me tell you something, there are some people who cannot _afford_ to surrender if they value their life at all. This isn't gym class. If I quit, I'm not going to get detention, I'm going to _be tortured and dismantled._ Yeah, lovely isn't it. So, when I get to that point of 'I have nothing left' I have one option.

Give more. Find it within yourself to give more, and _do it BEFORE they kill you_.

Punching through the clouds, the ground was alarmingly close. I wrenched myself upwards, and felt the g-forces that people experience on a roller coaster try to floor me and drop me to the ground. Arching sideways, my stomach churned, protesting to my sudden lateral and vertical movements that would flatten a human.

Please beat the plane.

Please beat the plane.

Please let me have beaten the plane.

_BBBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!_

"Yes!" I punched the air. Slowly and watching the fireball, and the ejected pilot with his parachute. The rush of warm air was amazing. The pilot glared at me. "Peace out, jackass!" I shouted, and waved both my arms, doing jazz hands, snapping and pointing like a dancer, mocking him. "See you around," I turned, victory buzzing in my veins and adrenaline from my flight, "OR NOT!" I hollered.

Hunching my shoulders, I let the speed take over, shooting straight up into the morning sky. I am untouchable, unbeatable, unbreakable.

For now.

I soared, enjoying the feeling, before letting reality sink in. I needed… many things right now.

Food.

Shelter.

Water.

A home would be nice. Education not a requirement, but you know, bonus.

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WAHOOO!!! Prolouge is done, chapter one on the way! Like it? Love it? Want to burn it? LET ME KNOW!! Review for a special preview of the next chapter!

-A.C.B.


	2. Chapter 1 New Kid

**I own nothing, except Onyx, but I have a feeling that she would beat the shit out of me if I told her that… my co-write Chana wrote most of this chapter, let her know if you like it!**

Chapter 1- New Kid

*This story has a soundtrack, the songs that help me write it, this chapters song is 'I'm Just A Kid- Simple Plan'

**EPOV-**

School was a relentless never ending circle of sameness. The same people… same titles, same attitudes. Perhaps the only thing that made it worth it was seeing Bella. She was a mentor for a new freshman this year…

"You Bella?" Someone asked loudly. A scrawny teenager, who did _not_ look old enough to be a freshman asked impatiently. Her short, pin straight strawberry blonde hair hung in her face, the ends faded to blonde but the rest was a pretty orange. She had piercing blue eyes and a uniquely loose-cannon look about her. Bella smiled, slightly nervous and shook the girls hand,

"Yeah, that's me, what's your name?" The girl frowned,

"Onyx." She said simply. I was curious and tried to probe her mind. I hit a strong physical barrier and was thrown out. Onyx looked at me steadily, and I got one thing, _Watch your back pretty boy…_

"Well Onyx, why did you move to Forks?" Bella asked cheerfully.

"Didn't have much of a choice." She said gruffly, "Had nowhere else to go." She scanned her surroundings with a set jaw, "How many kids go here?"

"Not many," I said, "Maybe three hundred." She nodded.

"Hey Bella!" Someone yelled. It was Jessica Stanley. She looked at Onyx with disdain, _What a freak! God she is so weird!_

Onyx glared at her, causing Jessica to shiver, it was quiet the creepy stare.

"See ya," Onyx muttered and walked off, arms crossed to her first class. Bella panicked,

"Hey what class do you have?" She yelled after Onyx.

"Algebra II/Trig." I nearly choked. That was a JUNIOR class, and she was a freshman. Moreover, I HAD THAT CLASS!

"Uh… I have that two, I'll walk you there." I said slowly. She glared at me.

"What makes you think I don't know where I'm going?" She asked icily.

I coughed, "Because you're heading towards the wrong building." She stopped glowering and finally relented, falling into step behind me. "You like school so far?"

"No." She snapped.

I tried to read her mind again, I got a response this time. She growled.

"Making friends?"

"Not really."

"Trust issues?"

"You could say that."

"Secrets you can't tell anyone?" I probed. She stopped, and narrowed her eyes. She closed the distance between me and her in two long strides.

"Look freak-o-zoid," She seethed, "I don't know what's screwed up inside your thick skull but keep your mitts off my thoughts. Or you _will_ be sorry." I actually felt a small thrill of fear. From a human!

"Sorry." I muttered lamely. She scowled,

"Yeah, whatever." She continued to frown.

I sighed, "Has anyone ever told you your face might freeze that way?"

"Nope."

"What, do you threaten them or something?" I demanded, getting fed up with her secrets.

"Grumpy, are we?"

"Sarcastic and angry, aren't you?" I snapped.

"Look dude, I don't know what you're problem with me is, but I suggest you get over it." She said. I grabbed her shoulder, so she was facing me, and searched her eyes for answers.

"I can't figure you out." I whispered. She curled her lip at me,

"Fun to human isn't it, pretty boy?" She sneered and shook off my hand. "Now either show me where my math class is or get the hell out of my way."

She walked off, hair swirling behind her. I caught her scent for the first time. And gagged. Her scent was… was… so odd! Like inhaling knock out gas, it made my thoughts swirl. I shook my head and composed myself, jogging up to her and walking next to her towards class.

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**CHAPTER 1 IS DONE!**

**So… what do you think? Review for a preview! Haha, that rhymed! REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 2 Everyone Has Secrets

Chapter 2- Everyone Has Secrets

*Song- Emergency: Paramore

**EPOV-**

"That was the most boring hour of my life." Onyx grumbled. I sighed heavily, I hadn't been able to get into her mind for the whole class, but I could feel the barrier getting weaker. It took some of her energy to block me out.

"You must have an exciting life." I said, trying to pry answers out of her again.

_Wouldn't you like to know…_ She smirked slightly, letting me know that I was only hearing that thought because she let me, not because I got past her.

"Are you following me?" She demanded. In truth, I was, but there was a better answer to this question.

"I'm going to lunch." I said simply, "You happen to be going there to, we share a common path, I'm not following you." She glowered. "You seen you seem to be incredibly paranoid, is something bothering you?"

"A whole hell of a lot of things, but right now, you." She said bitterly. I was beginning to think she was incapable of any kind responses.

She walked into the cafeteria and looked around once before actually deciding on what to do, "Hey! Onyx!" Bella called, waving happily. Onyx forced a smile and waved back. Bella and Onyx walked down to get food together and I went to talk to Alice.

Alice knew something was up to, "I can't see anything… she just blurs it right out! The future isn't fuzzy Edward, it's _not there_."

I paused, "I can't read her mind." Alice stared, "She's doing it knowingly, she could feel me trying to read her and blocked me."

_We need to warn the others._ Alice thought, I shook my head.

"She is going to sit with us, and I want to see what will happen."

Bella and Onyx walked over to our table together, and for once Onyx was actually smiling about a story Bella was telling her. Something about how she was very clumsy. Onyx laughed shortly, an rather nice sound, close to that of… Alice's laugh. A very musical sound of peeling bells and wind chimes. For the first time, a felt a pang of pity for this girl. Something obviously wasn't right in her life and I had been so rude. She spotted me and stopped suddenly, standing stock still. Her eyes were calculating, wondering whether or not to sit anywhere near me.

"Onyx? Are you coming?" Bella asked quietly. Her eyes flicked up to Bella.

"Uh… yeah… why not sit with a bunch a seniors." She muttered, the last part was far too low for humans to hear. Far too low for humans to even make that sound! Jasper sat stock straight in his seat, Rosalie's eyebrows pulled together and she frowned.

"Edward." Onyx said curtly, and sat down in a fluid motion, Bella separating her and me. Jasper however, was situated right on the other side of her and continued to stare at her. She noticed this, "Something funny, _Casper, the not so friendly ghost?_" She said, her lips barely moving, making a sound that again was barely audible. Jasper practically tipped his chair over in shock. Meanwhile, a breeze brought her strange scent over towards Emmett and Alice who quietly coughed.

"So, how do you like your classes so far?" Bella asked happily, unaware of the situation that had gone on so far.

"No." She sighed, "I find them… boring honestly, I was home schooled before and apparently was taught a few notches to high. Unfortunate, but slightly helpful." She said knowingly, shooting my an impossibly quick sideways glance.

Then, she yawned quietly. "Tired already?" Bella teased. She nodded. I knew why, because she was struggling to keep me out. An idea popped into my head. Just as she was leaning back in her chair, relaxing a little, and letting her eyelids droop, I threw my gift at her mental wall with as much force as I could.

It worked.

_So weird to be in School… no whitecoats… wonder if they'll find me… kill them if they do… weird kids… really pale… can't hear they're heartbeats… just as different as me… it's not fair… I want to be normal… I want to be like the rest of them, a normal huma-…_

She stood up suddenly, her chair scrapping against the floor. I looked up from the table where I had been staring while I concentrated. She was glaring at me, like her eyes were on fire. Her small fists were clenched at her sides.

"Stay. Out. Of. My. Head." She snarled precisely. When I say snarl, I mean how Emmett snarls when he loses a fight to Jasper. What had she been thinking? She wanted to be… to be… to be what? The question burned in my mind.

I didn't realize I had stood up to. Bella looked confused, and scared. Onyx growled, a low feral sound that was specifically inhuman. Emmett stood up suddenly, his eyes locked on her, assessing her as a threat to the family.

Rose stood to, "Let's take this outside, shall we?" She said calmly. Onyx didn't move, her heart beating to fast in her chest, like it had been all day. But Rose… was planning on killing the girl as soon as we were out of human sight. A threat. A threat that must be taken care of, disposed of. She was a threat, her death would be collateral damage.

"Couldn't agree more." Onyx seethed. She stalked out of the cafeteria, wrenching the door out of her way. My family and I followed quietly, and as soon as we were outside, she turned on us.

"Care to explain why your creeper brother here has been trying to _read my mind_ for the last three hours?" She demanded, looking at Emmett. He narrowed his eyes,

"Care to explain how you know he could read minds?"

She froze, and then snorted, "Look I don't know who you are or who you work for, but if you want to keep your limbs in place I suggest you keep your distance." She spat.

With that, she turned to leave, Rose grabbed her shoulder. Rather roughly I might add. Onyx growled, "Let go of me." She said precisely.

A low whistling noise met my ear, "Ooh… hey there birdie, whatcha got yourself into now?" Onyx froze, her eyes going wide, and she turned to see who had said that. A man, a sneer on his lips and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Eraser…" Onyx murmured, she turned to my family, "Get out of here." She demanded, "Go! Leave now!" I felt a wave of confusion wash over me,

"Aw… what's the matter birdie, didn't you tell your new friends about yourself?" The man sneered. He laughed quietly, "That you're nothing like any normal person and that you belong to _me_ and Itex? That you have no rights and your really only property?"

"SHUT UP YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Onyx exploded angrily. The man laughed,

"Oh Onyx…" he chuckled, "Don't you get it? You lose. I've got this place wired, we know where you are, and right now you aren't going to get past me." He smiled at my family, "And I get the enjoyment of showing your friends what a freak you really are." He pulled something from his pocket, a gun.

I searched for Bella, making sure she wasn't here. And she wasn't. Onyx didn't move one muscle, "So birdie, easy way or the hard way, you choose."

Onyx frowned, "I choose… the kicking your ass way." The man smiled,

"Wrong answer." His finger pulled on the trigger, before anyone could move Onyx out of the way, she was gone. She had literally leapt out of the way, moved faster than the bullet. She rolled to once side than sprang off the balls of her feet, leaping forward. Her fist made contact with the man's face, sending him sprawling.

"Don't act so surprised." She huffed, eyeing us, "At least I'm not _the living dead_, and before you ask… I can't hear your hearts… so, you're just as much freaks as I am." She said smugly.

"You… you know what we are?" Jasper stammered.

"I know you're not human, I know you have stellar hearing, I know your just as strong and fast as I am." She said simply, "But I don't know exactly what you are." There was a shuffling sound from behind Onyx. In the man's place was an upright standing wolf, growling angrily.

"Aw shit." Onyx muttered just as the wolf jumped, moving way to fast. The two collided and fought, brawling on the ground. The smell of blood soon polluted the air. _THUD._ Onyx whacked the wolf's head with as much force as she could muster. The creatures head was knocked to one side and he howled in pain.

Onyx got up and wiped the side of her face, where three jagged claw marks were. The wolf retreated slowly. "Well…" she said, "you guys are helpful."

"What was that thing?" Alice squeaked.

"An Eraser." Onyx said steadily.

"What are you?"

"I dunno, what are you?" She said smartly. I sighed,

"Look, my dad is a doctor, you should get those scrapes checked out." I said, she eyed me cautiously.

"Well… why not? But if you go all freaky-weirdo-inhuman la-di-la on me, I'm out." She said, rubbing her hands together. I failed to comprehend how she was completely calm in this situation. She saw that, "Oh, what now pretty boy?" She sighed,

"I'm waiting for you to go into shock." I said simply, she laughed, then grimaced slightly. "What?"

"Just my shoulder, it's fine." She said, rolling it a couple times.

I looked at her for a second then placed my hand gently on her shoulder and pushed down with a minute amount of force. She yelped loudly.

"Yeah you're 'fine' just a dislocated shoulder." I said, raising my eyebrows. "Plus you've got a fever."

She rolled her eyes, "And you're skin is like ice but apparently that's normal for you, so bug off."

"Some people never cease to amaze." I sighed, "Are you going to come with us or not?"

She frowned, "Depends…"

"On?"

"Whether or not I can trust blondie over there not to take my head off while my back is turned." She jerked her head towards Rosalie. I sighed.

"Rose will behave herself." I said. She hissed at me,

"I heard that." Onyx quipped.

"Well, then let's go." I said walking to the parking lot. Onyx saw my car, stopped and folded her arms across her chest. "What now?" I groaned.

"Me and enclosed spaces don't get along well. Especially with you guys in there to." She said flatly. I shook my head in frustration, "Just give me directions… bet you ten bucks if you drive the speed limit I'll beat you to your house." She smirked, offering a challenge.

So I gave her directions, and accepted the bet. As soon as we shook hands, she took off sprinting down towards the woods, I sighed. Sure, her run was abnormally fast, but not faster than a car. I drove, at the speed limit no matter how maddening that was, all the way home. I pulled up into the driveway,

"Gee… and here I thought you had ditched me." A voice came from behind me. A victorious looking Onyx sat right in front of the door. She was wearing a black zipper hoodie, black jeans and her hair was pulled back. She smiled slightly.

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Okay, #3, is done. Like it, hate it? Will the Cullens find out Onyx's secret? Will Onyx let hers slip? Will the flock be in the next chapter? Who knows! Review for a preview!


	4. Chapter 3 Trying The Truth

Chapter 3- Trying The Truth

*Song- Unbreakable: Fireflight

"How… on earth did you beat us here?" I stammered, she laughed.

"I have my ways. And you owe me ten bucks." She said, a tiny glimmer of her thoughts made me reach out and grab a small dark object stuck to the back of her sweatshirt. I looked at it, it was a huge light russet color, close to white… almost tan feather. Larger than any bird I knew of, and oddly beautiful, shiny reddish brown… an unique color. I looked at her,

"Where did you get this?" I asked slowly. Her smile disappeared and she snatched it from my hand, shoving it in her pocket.

"I know this really big raven…" She began, "Well, you see he created the world, just like the Indians said, and I had this dream that I met him and went flying, which was awesome, and I woke up and there was this feather under my pillow! I figure it has to be a symbol. The raven wants me to do something." She said, obviously making up the whole story, but it was funny to listen to.

"Birdie…!" Someone called.

"FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY!" Onyx screamed. She looked at me sharply, "Get inside, lock the doors and stay the hell away from the windows!" She shouted, "Don't argue, just do it!" I looked at her evenly. Not happening.

The Eraser lunged while she was distracted. "Onyx!" I yelled, she turned a fraction of a section to late. The Eraser caught her from behind and drove her into the ground.

"Explain _this_ one to them birdie!" He shouted happily, something silver slashed through the air. Onyx let out a piercing scream of pain. I lounged forward, hitting the Eraser full force. How _dare_ this creatures attack this innocent girl like this!?!? I. Was. Pissed.

The creature stood no chance, and lay unconscious on the ground. I ran over to Onyx, who was on her hands and knees, gasping for air. Blood was dripping off the middle of her back, pooling alarmingly quickly and spreading everywhere. She bit her lip so hard that it to bled to.

_OWWW!!! My freaking wings!_ What the heck did that mean?

Our front door banged loudly, I looked up and saw Carlisle running out with Alice. He run over and crouched beside her,

"What happened Edward?" He demanded,

"A… humanoid creature attacked her for the second time today and sliced open part of her back." I said, Onyx wailed loudly,

"God damnit!" She yelled, "He knew! He _fucking knew!_ Son of a bitch! It always happens to _me._" She continued to snarl under her breath, her body was quaking.

"Onyx, I need you to stay still, alright?" Carlisle said calmly. She nodded once, "I'm going to get your jacket off so I can clean out the wound and close it, alright?"

Onyx flipped. "WHAT?! No way! Nuh-uh!" She struggled to her feet. Her back arched in pain once and she nearly tipped back over, I caught her.

"Onyx, do what he says." I said sternly. She looked at me pleadingly, then turned away, glaring at the ground.

"Shit." She grumbled and sat down. Carlisle sat next to her and slowly began to peel her jacket away from her back. Onyx's fists were clenched so tight her knuckles cracked, she ground her teeth together loudly.

I watched her facial expression when suddenly, Carlisle gasped. _Impossible… impossible…_

Onyx growled quietly. I looked around behind her. My eyes widened, there were… feathers… lots of feathers, attached to her back! Shiny light orange/tan and brown feathers, in the shape of wings!

"I know that you're not human." Onyx said slowly, her eyes closed, "You don't have heartbeats… and your skin is to cold… and you know that I'm not normal either." She said, her eyes flashed open, deadly and focused. "You have a lot to learn."

In one smooth movement, the feathers moved, they were thrust outwards. _Wings_, pure tan wings sprung out, fully extending sideways. I stood in awe, gazing at the beautiful spectacle

"It's… beautiful…" Carlisle murmured, "You're an angel."

Onyx barked a sarcastic laugh, "It's a curse… I'm a freak." She said quietly.

Carlisle mutely touched where her wings connected to her back, it was seamless and natural. However, a jagged gash ran across the line where the connected and ruined the natural look. He ran his finger across it carefully. Onyx hissed.

"There's a lot of nerves and muscles going through there." She said bitterly, "If something goes wrong in my back or the base of my wings… I'm as good as finished."

Slowly, Carlisle stitched up the wound, very carefully and precisely, trying to avoid hurting Onyx, though she was clearly in a massive amount of pain. When he was done, she slowly drew in her wings.

"Sons of bitches knew this would happen. It was so fucking _obvious_." Onyx growled.

"Knew what?"

"The Erasers!" She shouted, "They knew if they cut the base of my wings that he," she jerked her chin towards Carlisle, "would come running and that I would bleed out if it wasn't stopped. Smart sons of bitches." She smiled quickly, "But you still don't know the whole story, so that's a plus."

"I'll find out." I said honestly. And I promised myself I would, however possible. Onyx sneered,

"Good luck with that pretty boy." She laughed. Alice watched Onyx closely, curiously.

"Can you… fly?" Alice asked quietly. Onyx's lips twitched,

"Yeah… at around two hundred miles per hour… and there's of course a little thing I call 'nitrous'." She laughed, "It's basically like shooting a race car up with nitrous, strapping jet rockets to it and letting it fly." She smiled slyly, "Same effect… but much more fun."

"What's your top speed?" Carlisle asked quizzically.

"I dunno… but I kept up with a commercial plane for a bit… then the air got kinda thin and I had to drop altitude." She said.

"How strong are you?" He continued to ask questions.

"Stronger than humans." She replied simply, "I can punch through a full grown tree, knock out a full grown male with one punch, snap metal rods like twigs, shatter safety glass with my fists, and knock basically anyone's jaw off with one good kick." She said, not at all joking.

"What kind of… situation requires you to do those things?" The words tumbled out of my mouth. Onyx looked at me evenly.

"Remember that creature that attacked me twice today?" She asked. I nodded, "This was a good day," She proceeded, "I didn't break any bones today, and there was only one of them. And as far as bad days go… let's just say I've gone far past close calls."

"What do you mean?"

"I've been shocked back to life after my heart stopped twice. But by the people who want to capture me, so it was never a really good thing. There are days when I wake up and somehow wish I could just have died in my sleep." She said seriously, eyes remorseful and full of truly horrifying stories. "But if you really think about it, how normal can my life be if I have wings? If I'm a science experiment?"

Carlisle gaped, "Scientists did this to you!?" He sounded furious. I snapped, that was it, the 'white coats' were scientists in lab coats.

"Hmm… well now, that's a theory isn't it?" Onyx wondered aloud, "I'll get back to you on that."

I sighed. She still wasn't budging about her past. But… she had told us so much,

"Why are you being so honest… actually letting us know part of your secret?" I asked. She looked at me seriously, deep sad stories swimming in her eyes.

"I'm doing something different." She said, "Everything I've done so far has led to pain and sadness. So, I'm going in a different direction… I'm trying the truth."

Alice bounced up to Onyx.

"Hey, can I see you fly? Please, please pleeeeeaaaasssseeee????" Alice begged. Onyx froze.

"Are you… kidding me?" She asked shocked, "It's really no different than watching a really big birds, I don't get why you want to see it."

"BECAUSE IT IS SO FREAKING AWESOME AND YOU ARE SO LUCKY!" Alice yelled, "Now go fly!" Onyx sighed and went to get her backpack. She pulled out her jacket from her backpack. It was different than her hoodie, it was an insulated high-tec windbreaker, rain proof, cold weather, light weight layer.

"I was wearing this before." She smiled at me, "When I beat you to your house in the bet, and I still want that ten bucks." My jaw dropped.

"You _flew _here?" I gasped.

"Well _duhhh_," She said obviously, "it's really fun and fast and I knew I could beat you, plus the roads wind, and I can go 'as the crow flies'" She laughed at her own joke. Pulling on her jacket, she extended her wings, sliding them through large cut slits, specifically for her wings.

"Why the jacket?"

"Uh… cause it's frickin' cold up there in case you didn't know that." Onyx grumbled. She clapped her hands together, "Okay, am I allowed to jump off your roof or what?"

"Of course!" Alice chirped, "This way," They ran into the house, Onyx keeping step with Alice as she ran a close to human speed. They were soon clambering out the third story window and onto the roof.

Onyx stood on the edge of the roof, raised on her toes. She closed her eyes and smiled, letting a light breeze tickle her feathers. Then, she tucked her wings and jumped, doing a full twist and front flip before snapping her wings out only five feet from the ground.

I watched, simply awed again as with one graceful flap of her wings, she began flying and soaring upwards. She glided up, turning once then descended down to us. She smoothly landed on her feet and walked up to me.

"Satisfied? Now that you know one of my many secrets?" She asked.

"Sort of… but that was hardly a flight of any real… splendor and strength that you described." I said, because I had been expecting more.

"I was hoping you would say that." She smiled. "Alright now pretty boy, try to keep up. Let's see how fast you can run."

"I can run very fast." I said confidently, a little miffed that she was so quick to assume she was faster than me. She smiled,

"Bring it." She said, "When I start running , you go. Make a five mile lap around the trail behind your house, three times, coming through the front yard each time. You can't cross the river at all, and I can't use the updraft currents that run off the mountains." She explained. She obviously had some kind of super-intelligent memory.

"Alright…" I mulled over the details. With my toe, I scratched a line in the dirt. "Ready?" I asked. She smiled,

"Set, go!" I bolted for the woods, and heard the gentle 'whoosing' sound of her wings beating. Then…

_BOOM!_

A concussive sound, like releasing a vast amount of energy, and Onyx shot forward, whistling through the air. She was moving faster than I thought possible, and passed me. Not wanting to loose again, I sped up as we turned towards the house again for the first lap, covering five miles in mere seconds. My family stood, slightly astonished as we whirled past them. Onyx, who was about a thousand feet above the ground, dove suddenly and dipped within ten feet of the ground.

She looked right at me as we headed for the trees. "Do try to keep up." She smirked, and bolted, at full speed, for the tightly spaced woods. Dipping and weaving, she gracefully avoided everything. It was amazing! We blew through the yard a second time, this time even faster.

"Last lap!" Alive called after me. Now it was time to pull out all the stops. No way I was going to let her beat me. Onyx rose steadily, gaining speed as well.

We surged forward, neck and neck until the last second. Onyx dove from the sky, adding the speed of free-fall to her. She passed Alice first by mere inches. I pulled up and stopped…. Onyx tried, but her wings, still fully unfurled, just brushed a tree.

"SHIT!"

She was yanked sideways and tumbled several yards before skidding to a stop. I ran over to assist her, "Don't touch me." She said quickly, pulling her wing out of the debris she had created out of the nearby river bank. Slowly, she got to her knees, then her feet. Rolling her neck, shoulders, arms, then finally stretching her wings she faced me. "Never _ever_ touch me after an impact like that." She said seriously, "My bones are incredibly light, different than yours, I need to make sure that everything is in place before I move."

"I'm… sorry." I managed, slightly wounded by her sudden harshness.

"Hey…" She said slowly, "I know you don't eat because none of you touched your food at lunch… but, you wouldn't have to happen to have any food lying around would you?" Carlisle smiled at her question,

"Actually, we do."

"Score." She smiled. "I wasn't really looking forward to dumpster diving in the rain tonight." She said, shrugging.

"_Dumpster diving?_" Rosalie demanded shrilly, "Your parents let you do that? How disgustingly low-class."

Onyx snarled and grabbed the collar of Rosalie's shirt, "My _parents_ sold me to scientists for _money_. I go dumpster diving because I live _alone_, because those same scientists want to kill me, because I'm a runaway and technically don't exist and because I don't want to starve." She snapped.

Rosalie's eyes narrowed, "You have no idea what real suffering is like." She said angrily. Onyx sneered,

"I think I do."

"Really?" Rosalie snapped. Onyx removed her jacket and lifted the back of her shirt. My eyes fell on several ragged scars covering her midsection, cutting across her ribs and racking all the way back to her spine. A line of feathers was missing in her wings. The lines were to uniform to be normal…

"Are those surgical scars?" Carlisle gaped.

"Yeah…" Onyx said quietly, "Those bastards wanted to see if they could implant a tracking system in me that would deliver an electric shock every time I tried to escape."

"And?"

"They succeeded." She said, "Until I threw up the next day. That was the worst twelve hours of my life." Rose simply laughed.

"Whatever, you're just a clueless human like the rest of them, ignorant wimps and thinking that mere bumps and bruises are the end of the world." She snorted. Onyx drew her hand back fast and whipped it forward, slapping Rosalie with enough force to break a humans neck.

"Don't. Ever. Call. Me. A. Wimp." Onyx snarled. There was a fire in her blue eyes. "I've been to hell and back and all you care about is your fucking vanity." She spat in Rosalie's face, "Yeah, maybe your life was rough, but you grew up human, you had a life, parents, family a home…"

"_Had_," Rose insisted, "past tense. I don't have a life, like you said I'm dead." Onyx looked at Rose with empty eyes.

"You're off better than me… I never had a life." Her hand absentmindedly rubbed the back of her neck.

"I just lived."

Forget fear, it's just a crutch

Now I am unbreakable,

This time I'm not scared,

It's unmistakable,

No one can stop me, no one can touch me.

-Unbreakable: Firelight

*************************************************************************

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	5. Chapter 4 Weakness of A Warrior

Chapter 4- Weakness of a Warrior

*Song- Giving It Up For You- Holly Brook/ All The Things She Said- t.a.t.u.

Onyx, after much convincing had finally agreed to stay with us. This was good. But now she was asleep in my room, and her mental shield was completely gone, crumbled form exhaustion. This was bad. Her thoughts… dreams, memories rather, were so incredibly perturbing that it made me ill.

'_Put it back in it's cage.' The man in the whitecoat said tonelessly after ten excruciating minutes. The bonds keeping my feet stuck to the bottom of the tank released and I floated up to the top, choking and gagging on water. An Eraser smiled down at we and struck my head, forcing me under water again._

_No… I can't swim…_

_Shocks, hundreds of painful shocks. 'I don't care how!' Someone was shouting, 'just wake it up!' Another shock. I groaned. 'Ah, it is awake, finally.' The same voice said, a whitecaot crouched in front of my cage. My dirty, blood coated fingers looped around the bars of the crate, peering out at the man cautiously,_

'_Experiment Onyx, 25-6-4, has survived ten minutes under water in one breath, impressive. Inject the fluid, then run the test again.' Someone reached forward, opened my crate door and dumped me on the ground. I groaned quietly._

_Something sharp broke my skin. Then, fire was spreading through my veins. I screamed in agony, thrashing and fighting against the Erasers who were pinning me down. I was soon thrown back into the freezing cold water._

_Every. Inch. Of my body screamed in pain… my insides, blood, veins, heart, was on fire, while my skin was being iced over. I cried out, and water slammed into my throat like a fist…_

I groaned, rubbing my forehead. Jasper sympathized with me, he could feel the pain to. "How bad is it getting?" Alice asked quietly,

"Let's just say that humane was never a thought for how she was treated, and that torture is a word to kind for what happened to her, and that death would be too lenient a punishment for anyone involved in her condition." I hissed lowly.

_Gagging, water hit my lungs. I twisted against my bonds, but could not move. I heard an Eraser laugh with pleasure. I strained one final time, and felt the lat of my strength dissipate. There is no scarier sound than that of hearing your own heart skip a beat._

'_GET IT OUT NOW!' Someone was yelling, the voices became distant. I drifted… _

_The shock back to life was not as nice and welcoming as one might think it would be. It was more like… welcome back to hell, how was your vacation?_

"Good god…" I murmured, "She grew up in a dog crate… in a lab, being experimented on… and treated like an 'it' not a being."

I could hear Onyx tossing and turning upstairs, her muffled squeaks of fear at her own dreams.

_I poured on the speed, one thing on my mind… escape… escape… escape._

_Jeb couldn't help me, of course not. He could only help the other six, the ones made to perform as a group. Not me, a solo fighter… and hopefully survivor. Whatever, screw Jeb, I got myself out anyways. _

'_Hi Birdie.' I whirled, same old face glowering down at me from forty feet higher in the air. Alexander. He dove, smacking into my already injured frame. Something gashed into me, sharp and painful, tearing through my wing. I screamed, feeling my wings fail, and the wind whistled past. I'm losing altitude, I thought desperately, I'm going to fall! The trees were fast approaching, I gritted my teeth, wings still not working! Not working!_

_I'm going to die._

_I am going to die._

_I'm dead, it's not so bad._

_Not so bad… better than the life you've had so far._

_I closed my eyes shut, and braced for the impact I knew would be the end._

I nearly jumped out of my seat. A loud, piercing scream of terror came from upstairs as Onyx sat bolt upright, her heart racing far beyond normal. I heard her flop backwards, heard her muffle a scream of frustration, and begin to cry uncontrollably. She shuddered, and sobbed into the pillow I had placed on the couch for her.

She finally pulled herself up, and I heard her feet shuffle across the hall. The sink turned on, and water splashed against her skin. She stood there, gasping for a few seconds. Then, looked up in the mirror.

In the mirror, she saw the twisted face of an Eraser, his mangled hand wrapped around a blood encrusted knife. Onyx threw herself against the opposite wall, smothering a shriek, and bolted out the door. Without thinking, simply acting, I jumped off the couch and ran up the stairs.

Onyx whirled around, forward in a defensive stance, and stared at me. Her face was wet with tears and her hair was tangled. She saw me and her face crumpled, she burst into tears, collapsing on the ground. Her hands covered her face and she sobbed uncontrollably.

I sat next to her and wrapped my arms around her shoulders, "Sh… it's okay, no one's going to hurt you." I murmured soothingly, rubbing her shoulders. She shook slightly,

"No it's not…" She whispered, "They're coming… I'm going to die." Her voice carried through her hands.

"I won't let that happen." I said firmly. "They'll have to go through me first."

"The can though…" She said brokenly, "They've killed _everyone_… they give us…" She didn't finish her sentence.

"They give you what, Onyx?"

"Expiration dates…" She choked out. Then quickly buried her face in my chest and cried. I hugged her tightly and closed my eyes, listening to her heart beat.

Somehow, she was made to be tough, but everything has a weakness. I… I just wanted to make it disappear. I saw all the sorrow and wrong in the world reflected in this one girl, all the bottled anger and rage, all the lies and broken promises. Like she was doomed to feel the pain of everyone and everything…

If she were my own child, what would I do? What could I do? She is not mine… but should my reaction be that different? If I can help this one poor girl, shouldn't I? Surely it could do nothing but good… help her, and perhaps help me, teach me how to be human again. Surely I must be able to help her. If I could not then what is my life truly worth? If I can do nothing to help others, then I must have no purpose.

"You're not going die." I said quietly, stroking her cheek, "You going to be fine. Onyx, you are _amazing_. You're strong, determined, kind… careful, and you care about other people." I said, sincerity ringing in my words, "You may have been created in a lab, but you are perfect, and one of the most beautiful people I have ever met." _Along next to Bella, she is amazing… _ I thought truthfully.

"But… I… I was made as a weapon." She murmured, confused.

"Something born of violence often looks back and yearns for truth." I quoted the wise words of a man I had once admired.

She sniffed, "You sound like one of those damned whitecoats."

I chuckled, "Do I look like an evil scientist to you?"

"I stopped thinking everyone is innocent and started trusting no one a long time ago." She said quietly. I felt a small tear at my heart.

"But you said you were trying something new, didn't you?" I reminded her.

"The truth?" She asked, "I am… and so far the results are me getting stabbed and having nightmares."

My lips twitched, "I believe you started telling the truth _after_ you were stabbed, not before."

She stopped crying for a second and looked up at me, her eyes still shining. I stopped, wondering if I had upset, her.

"Smart ass." She said, and cracked a tiny smile. Victory.

"So…" I began, a random thought popping into my head, "are bird kids ticklish?" Her smile disappeared.

"You wouldn't." She glared at me.

I smiled in response and tickled her sides, she squirmed and laughed uncontrollably. She was flailing for about a minute, feathers going everywhere, laughing way to loud before Alice came storming up the stairs.

"_EDWARD MASEN CULLEN!_" She shrieked. I looked up to see my sister looking furious,

"Yes, Alice?"

"You. Got. Feathers. On. My. Sweater." She seethed. I looked and saw Alice's sweater hanging over the railing, which now had several fluffy feathers stuck to it.

"Whoops…" Onyx said absentmindedly, running her hands through her hair. Alice smiled for a second,

"Okay, so I saw you and this tiny wooden shack in the woods…" Alice started, "You gotta show me your house!"

Onyx frowned, "It's not mine, I just crash there when I want a change from sleeping in trees." She said.

"You sleep in trees?" I asked, slightly worried.

"On good days." She sighed, "Sometimes caves, and sometimes just the ground." She twirled a feather in her hair, "To think, most kids only sleep outside a couple times in their life… I only sleep inside a couple times in my life."

I squeezed her shoulder, "I'm okay." She assured me. I looked back at her skeptically, "I'm fine Edward, really."

"Can we go to your house?" Alice asked again. Onyx grimaced,

"I don't want to go back…" She whispered, wrapping her arms around her chest. I felt a stab of pain, and the image of Onyx hugging herself, trying to keep it together, switched to that from Jacob's memories of Bella, arms wrapped around herself, crying in her bed. I rubbed Onyx's hand.

"Maybe if you face your past, you can move on with your future." I said earnestly. She sighed heavily,

"Okay… you can see me tiny little house." Alice was practically jumping up and down, "But… I get to fly there, I don't know how to get there by foot."

"How far?"

"Fifty seven miles… mostly because I didn't know I was coming here until three days ago and my houses something that I wanted to be in the woods between some cities and some other factors." She said, and I could see the strategy behind her every move reflected in her eyes.

"How do you do it?" The words tumbled from my mouth. She looked at me curiously,

"Do what?"

"Stay so determined, so… I don't know, tough?" I asked, she sighed, her expression hardening. She closed her eyes, crossed her arms over her chest and clenched her fists,

"What other choice is there, Edward?" She huffed, looking off to the side. "Right," she quickly changed the subject, "Outside we go." She slid down the railing, something Esme would kill Emmett for doing, and went straight out the front door.

She walked outside and cursed, "What?" I asked anxiously.

"Bad weather." She murmured, I frowned,

"What are you talking about, the weather is fine." I said. Onyx barked a laugh.

"Down _here_ it is, but look up, see how fast the clouds are moving?" She glared at them, "You only think about the surface, how passable is the Earth beneath your feet… typical human thought process." She sighed, "I don't even think like them… leave it to me to feel one hundred percent alone in a room filled with humans… because none of them are anything like me." One small tear rolled down her cheek as she stared up at the sky. I wiped it away,

"Only because you're better than them, oh champion of the skies." I teased her.

She whacked the back of my head… lightly, but it just reminded me that she was strong. Her fingers twitched afterwards. "Man… you have one thick skull." She said absentmindedly. Then, she removed her jacket and slowly stretched out her wings. Letting the sun wash over them and heat the feathers, she smiled slightly. "Mmm…" She sighed.

I could only imagine how good that felt to her, the feeling of warmth… living in eternal cold makes you jealous of things like that.

"Ready guys? Keep up, because I don't know how to get around in the woods… so if you get lost…" She stopped and simply composed herself. "Clouds here I come." She muttered and took three long strides, jumped and snapped out her wings. Once she was up in the air, she glided happily, swooping up and down, enjoying the feeling.

We followed her steadily for several minutes, the trip was slightly long because Onyx was moving against the wind. Finally she began dropping towards the tree tops, searching for something. And then she found it, a narrow river, winding around in many curves and bends. She dropped until she was only four feet from the water, gliding down river.

Then, she took a breath and tucked her wings, gliding into the water. She swam to the edge of the river and pulled herself out. I looked at her questioningly,

"The trees are too thick to land in, you have to land in the river. Which… in a way is the point, the Erasers would never think of that." She smirked and walked silently towards the woods. Not far, there was a tiny, rundown, falling apart wooden shack in the woods.

"Welcome home…" She breathed, talking mostly to herself. She brushed aside the pine tree branches she had hung over the side that lacked a wall, acting as a door and stepped inside. Inside, the floor was earth, and a ground tarp was in the center, an old beat up backpack served as a pillow, and pine leaves as a mattress. Onyx surveyed the place, "Just as I left it…" she murmured. A piece of bark severed as a rain catcher and ran down from the roof to a basin on the floor. Onyx bent down and emptied it into a larger bin full of water.

I noticed several newspaper articles, with pictures of kids with wings in New York City. "You really aren't the only one…" I murmured.

"No…" She said tiredly, "I just can't find them."

"I'll help you." I said suddenly,

"What?"

"Find them."

She stared at me for a while and then nodded. Then carefully moved towards one of the walls, picking something up, it was a very old, very worn guitar.

"Where did you get that?"

"Traded it with a homeless dude for a stolen Wal-Mart gift card… and I played it in Seattle for spare money." She said honestly.

I swallowed a lump in my throat, the world was so cruel. "Can I hear you play?" I asked suddenly. She smiled quickly,

"Um… sure." She said, folding herself on the ground and strumming a slow, calming yet sorrowful tune,

_Though I'm young an cynical_

_That's not my only crime…_

_I've been stealing all your cigarettes,_

_Just to save another dime_

_Well I take a lot of medicine,_

_That I don't really need,_

_I was drinking at eleven,_

_Getting high at seventeen,_

_So now I don't appreciate the taste of expensive wine_

_Tell me what do you think of me now,_

_That I've traded all my armor for a crown?_

_Come on what do you do with me now,_

_That I've taken down the mirror on the wall,_

_And that sweet rain is ready to fall?_

_I'm giving it up for you,_

_Giving it up for you…_

_Take your aim like Artemis_

_And kill another dove_

_But when your heart becomes a hunter,_

_You may wound your chance to love…_

Onyx sighed quietly, her finger trailing across the last string. It was truly beautiful, a sad morose tone that expressed her feelings and her life growing up. She looked up at me sadly, "Until I find them… I'm all alone." She said, "It's this terrible feeling… I can't shake it… I can't describe it…" She looked down sadly.

Alice sat down next to her, "I can… sympathize a bit." She said, "I'll never really know what your life is like, but I do know that I was alone to, thinking I was the only one like me too."

I uncovered a tiny laptop, "What's this for?"

"Oh… Fang's blog." She said, "He's one of the flock, it just keeps me updated, to know their alive. And sometimes… I send them coordinates of places they can't find… then Fang gets mad and demands to know who I am." She said quietly, "I don't blame him… I would do the same thing."

Onyx huffed, "All those things they said…" Her blue eyes flashed in anger, "at the _lab_," she growled at the word, "they just keep running through my head. Every night… I wonder if I'm going to wake up with my expiration date showing up on the back of my neck… and I can start counting down my days."

"Hey, what's this?" Alice held up an envelope.

"A paper I'm submitting to Congress… concerning scientific experimentation freedom that is given to certain companies."

She sneered slightly and kicked at the ground. "I want to leave." She said suddenly, and stood up. I followed her silently.

"So…" She said slowly, "Are you ever going tell me what's so different about you and your family?"

I smirked, "From what you already know… and what you searched on your laptop I think you probably do know!"

"Yeah, but I just kind of wanted to hear you admit that you were a leach."

"Vegetarian." I corrected her,

"Yeah yeah, sure, you still like you could use a good tan." She said, smiling lightly.

"Says the mutant girl with a creepy ability to weasel out secrets." I countered. She smiled,

"Yeah, but you know you still like me." She said chirpily, "I have that affect, I grown on people."

Oh, she most certainly did. I thought slowly, I barely knew the girl… I barely knew what the girl even was, but I felt concern for her. Pity for her. Any way you look at it I wanted to take care of her and protect her from whatever this was that was haunting her.

Truly, I had no one that I took care of besides Bella. But she could in some ways take care of herself, and this was normal. But Onyx was simply a mystery. One minute she's up and happy, the next she's floored by sadness and depression. I guess it may be because of what she's been through, in fact I have no other explanation at all.

I guess… what I'm trying to say is that I want to help her… and I feel like I'm bonded to her. She's not my daughter, that's impossible… and very messed up, but I can take care of her and help her like she was.

"Hey, I'm going for a fly." She said suddenly, a tiny shimmer in her eyes. For the first time, a saw a neat scar tracing down her arm. I shuddered, not wanting to know how it got there.

"Okay… be careful." I found myself saying. Her lips twitched,

"I always am." I felt the need to follow her anyway…

***********************************************************************

Thanks for reading! As always, review for a preview!

-A.C.B. AND: C.S.M

Chana- u got my initials wrong b4…

Akari- Sorry…

C- U better be…

OH, AND BY THE WAY, WE ARE CHANING OUR SCREEN NAME!!!

Chana, Zeri and I have been writing our stories under the pen-name 'skiracer' and we decided it was time for a change. We decided on…

AkariZeri&Chana (New America) The new America part is 'cause we're all moved here from Israel with our parents.


	6. Chapter 5 A Common Enemy

Chapter 5- A Common Enemy

*Song- Saints of Los Angeles- Motley Crew

**Onyx POV-**

I soared off towards… somewhere. I just wanted to get my mind clear. And I couldn't get away fast enough. So, I tapped into my speed. The echoing noise as I rocketed off pleased me, but the speed pleased me even more. Soon, blue ocean was beneath me. I must have passed all of the beach and the reservation without even seeing it. That's pretty cool…

Banking south, I began traveling along the coast. California area, I thought absentmindedly, and then turned again, heading for Colorado and Utah. Sure, I could make it there in an hour, no problem. Only… I could only keep this pace for ten minutes. Some part of me wanted to go back, so halfway to Utah, I turned around and headed back to Forks

Sighing, I ignored the pain in my wings as my muscles started to ache.

I wish I knew then that this would be one of the most dangerous decisions of my life. Because, it's hard to fight off Erasers when you can barely keep yourself in the air.

**Maximum POV-**

"Max," Fang called, I swooped down beside him, "I got another one of those traces." He frowned, talking about his blog and a specific user who has been sending us little helpful bits of information. "I think it's coming from Washington but I can't be sure." He said, "It's really annoying because they never log on long enough for me to trace them."

"Do you think they're dangerous?" I asked lowly,

"No… but they know something about Itex, something we don't, and from the tone I'm getting, they want to take down them down just as much as we do." He huffed.

"Hey, Gazzy, report, where are we?" I called, as Gasman was out in front.

"Close to the Washington state boarder I think," he called back, "Be in Seattle in about an hour."

Good, we were making good progress. Until Iggy froze in mid-air. "STOP!" He yelled, straining his ears to listen. I barely heard it.

"Erasers." He breathed, "But they're already fighting something, they weren't here for us." He seemed as utterly dumbfounded as I felt.

"Should we check it out?" Fang asked me lowly. I chewed my lip, was it really worth a fight just to quench our curiosity?

_Curiosity is often how great discoveries are made_. Oh, so helpful… I grumbled back to the Voice.

"Let's go, but be careful." I agreed.

We dipped down lower, just above the clouds, searching for the source of the sound. Which frankly didn't please me, I never like to go looking for trouble, it just so happens to find me constantly.

A gang of Erasers were slightly below us, tailing… a bird girl. Another girl like us. She had short strawberry blond hair and blue eyes, she was tall but frail, and looked like she hadn't eaten well in a while. Her tan wings flapped erratically though, and she was losing altitude. "So birdie," One of them sneered, "this is for embarrassing me." He came down hard, his foot connecting with her ribs, "And this is for getting away." The Eraser backhanded the girl in the face. She spat at him, spat blood.

"I get away because I have the right to live wherever I want to! As in, not in a freaking dog cage Alexander!" She yelled at him. Dog cage. Erasers. Wings. She was exactly like us, minus the having a flock part.

The Eraser moved forward, "Maybe, just maybe I'm getting bored chasing you." He said, one hand wrapped firmly around her neck. "Maybe I'll just let you fall… after all, I don't think you have the energy to stay in the air much longer." He sneered. Then he drew back his fist. One quick punch, that's all it took really, one quick hard punch. That's all it ever takes.

The Eraser unclasped his grip and the girl slipped free, plummeting straight down, fully unconscious. I signaled for my flock to attack. We dove down; I went straight past the Eraser, not even looking at him, shooting straight after the girl, using my speed to catch up.

Fang was right beside me, "You go left, I'll go right!" I yelled, because I couldn't carry the girl on my own. We caught up only twenty feet from the ground, my arms wrapping under her securely, I almost felt my bottom feathers touch the grass.

She was down for the count, that was for sure. In bad shape, her nose was crooked and bloody, her left arm torn up and ankle at an odd angle. Even still, she looked oddly peaceful with her eyes closed. Fang and I carried her up to where the flock was.

"We need to land." I said, looking at them seriously, "Now."

"What's going on?" Iggy asked,

"The girl that was fighting the Eraser passed out, Max and Fang caught her but she looks pretty beat up." Gasman said helpfully, Iggy nodded.

We landed as carefully as we could and picked a place that was semi-hidden by the thick trees. Setting the girl down, I looked her over once, and checked her for an expiration date. Luckily, she didn't have one. Yet.

"Iggy, come here." I said, he crawled over, "Feel this," I put his hand on her ankle, "Is it broken?"

Iggy paused for a moment, "Yeah… pretty bad to." He murmured, his finger tips skimming over the rest of the girl, "This feels like she really got beat up Max. What does she look like?"

"You mean, cuts and bruises?"

"No," he sighed, "I mean what does she _look_ like, hair color, stuff like that."

"Oh." I said lamely, "Well… she's about my height, strawberry blond hair, more red by her roots and fading to blond,"

"Redhead." Iggy smirked. I whacked his shoulder.

"She has blue eyes, but their closed right now, she's kind of tan but not really, um… her wings are a creamy reddish tan color and she looks like she's been starved." I concluded. I cast the girl another look, what are the chances we stumble upon another hybrid? It was really crazy.

"Is… is she going to be okay, Max?" Angel asked, her lip trembling.

"I hope so Angel," I sighed, "I really hope so."

"She has a backpack." Fang said, bringing it over and dumping it on the ground. There was a crunching noise, "Oops." He said tonelessly.

I turned the backpack inside out and dumped its contents on the ground, "Right, let's see what mystery girl has in her backpack." Inside was simple stuff, granola bars, some apples, a metal water bottle and water purifier. She also had stuff that was really helpful for survival, ground tarps, blankets, a lighter, hats and fingerless gloves, a Swiss army knife… things like that. There was also a tiny mp3 player, holding only twelve songs. There was a digital camera, with the Wal-Mart price tag still attached. The camera had a few photos on it, stunning aerial views of sunsets, the Grand Canyon and other things. She probably sold these for money, smart.

There was also a note. Neat curly handwriting, obviously not hers,

_Onyx,_

_I know by the time you read this that you may be in… Kansas for all I know. I'm sorry for being so rude when we met. I actually do care about you, and I want to help you. It's been a while since I've had a friend like you. I understand your position, and that you like to work alone, to keep everyone else safe, but I would feel better if I just made things a little easier for you. Inside your backpack there is now a standard first aid kit, which I improved because I know you often get more than cuts and bruises, and a sheet that can help you tell if you have a concussion and how bad it is. Things like that… there's also an emergency cell-phone, if you need help, turn it on and give my family a call. Our number is in there._

_I hope you succeed. I hope you never see anymore Erasers. I hope you stop Itex. I hope they never find you. I hope you stay safe. And, I hope you'll come back one day._

_-Sincerely, Edward Cullen (and the rest of the family)_

I took a moment to re-read the letter. So, she had at least reached out to someone, once. I dug through the back pack and found the first aid kit, and the cell-phone. There was also a hairbrush and strawberry body spray… um okay… then I saw a note attached to it, _Blame Alice, she believes every girl should own heals and body spray… she couldn't fit the heels in your bag._ I almost laughed. This girl had good friends.

From the letter, I was pretty sure her name was Onyx. Odd name, but then, Nudge, Fang, Gasman and Total aren't so normal either. In a messier handwriting, with several broken, dull pencils, there was a series of numbers. Much like the ones we had found in the Institute For Higher Living, there were three pages of numbers, the same code being twisted and contorted, she was trying to find a meaning in it.

I wondered what life was like for her without a family. My flock was everything to me.

"Max…" Angel tugged at my sleeve, "She's sort of waking up."

I nodded, "Can you tell me what she's thinking?"

_Ugh… my freaking head. Bet I broke my nose again, great… just freaking peachy. I'm going to knock Alexander's teeth out next time, especially the big wolfy ones. Just gotta remember not to use nitrous… the effect is way too costly. Don't think I've ever been that tired before… I must have fallen… wait…_

_I must have fallen at least three hundred feet… I should be… dead. Okay, time to wake up, pray I'm not back at the school._

"Hi, can you hear me?" I asked quietly,

_Yes… _she thought.

"Do you know where you are?"

_No._

"Do you know what happened?"

_Erase-… no._ She corrected herself mid-thought.

"Can you open your eyes, does your head hurt?" I asked her.

_Yes… to both_. Her expression puckered into a frown, and slowly she forced her eyes open.

"Welcome to Earth." I smirked. She shied away from me a bit, her hand flew to the back of her neck, checking. Checking for a date.

"Oh, well I'm sorry to bother you guys, but I got to go… you know, find my parents." She grimaced at the word parents, just barely spitting it out.

"I know what you are." I said frankly, and carefully unfolded my wings, "Because you're just like me." She gaped,

"You're… Maximum Ride?"

"The one and only." I smiled. She stared for a second and then looked around, the flock had gathered around her, in an anxious circle. "This is Fang," I nudged his side, he flashed Onyx a smile, "Iggy," Iggy waved and Onyx waved meekly back, "he's blind. Onyx waved back at you Iggy. That's Nudge, Gasman and Angel."

She nodded slowly, "I'm Onyx… those who wish to die call me Falcon."

"Those who wish to die?" Iggy asked,

"Ah… and Eraser I sort of grew up with named me Falcon…" She mumbled quietly.

"Yeah, I knew an Eraser, named Ari… he was my half brother and we got to be pretty good friends after a while." I said,

"Alexander just wants to kill me, but I don't think I'd want him as a friend." She said, a hard scowl settling on her face.

"So… you got a story or what?" I asked her. I had to make sure this wasn't some elaborate plan by the school. Her eyes narrowed,

"How do I know I can trust you?" She asked sharply.

"Good question. How do you expect us to trust _you_?" I asked. She said nothing, simply starring at me. I sighed, "Look, my name is Max, I'm fifteen and me and my family escaped from the School a long time ago, captured a couple times but always getting back out, we've been on the road ever sense." I said. Onyx remained silent for a while,

"I escaped last week, for the second time, the first time was when I was eight, and spent three years on my own, got captured, spent the next two years at the School, and then got out about three weeks ago." She said.

"Wow, you spent a lot more time at school than we did." Nudge said. Onyx clenched her fists,

"You had each other, I had nothing." She almost spit back. Nudge recoiled in slight fear.

"All right let's all just calm down," I said slowly. Onyx rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm eventually going to have to go back to Forks." She muttered lamely.

"Forks? Really?" Iggy asked,

"No I was joking, it's called spoons." She sighed, "Yeah, there's a family there, and they're kind of paranoid so they probably think I've been kidnapped." She folded herself on the ground, "Don't freak out." She warned us.

And her pupils snapped to a pin size, then expanded, until her entire eye was a deep onyx color. She stared straight ahead and looked like she was concentrating. I gawked, what the hell was this? She sat there for a while.

"Shit." She muttered.

"What?" I demanded.

"Uh… my friends are going to get their asses handed to them by Erasers?" She said sheepishly. I glared at her,

"What the hell were you thinking." I shook my head.

"Thinking?!" She demanded, "I wasn't thinking anything! I was at their house when Alexander nearly cut my wings clean off my back with a knife!" She said, her voice rising. "I nearly bled out on the spot!" She snapped, "And they saved my life, if the school get's them…" She trailed off.

"So, these friends aren't human?" I asked but it was more of a statement. She nodded.

"Immortal, and if Itex got them, I'd really be screwed." She said, "So, you can either come with or wait for them to find you here, cause they'll be here soon." She said.

"How do you know that?!" I demanded.

She tapped her forehead, "I know things, my eyes don't just turn black for fun, I can see what's going on wherever I want, so long as I've been there before." She said. I nearly gasped, what the hell was this?

"Okay," Fang said, "I vote we go. Itex doesn't need more power."

"Agreed." Iggy said.

"Fine," I relented, "Lead the way little-miss-Falcon." She growled at me once then stood up. She jumped straight up, snapping her wings out and flying straight up. The flock followed, and this girl set a killer pace. We were flying at ninety miles per hour!

As we got closer, I saw the giant white house, and the swarm of Erasers converging on the house. A white streak flew out the front door, and paused, it was a boy. He looked up at the sky and called for his family, they joined him, each moving unnaturally fast.

Shit. There was two hundred Flyboys, not Eraser… FLYBOYS. I hate flyboys. But apparently Itex is using both now, so life sucks.

"YO!" Onyx yelled down, "You got two hundred coming in fast, watch your backs and cover each other's flanks!" She shouted down, the family organized, and Onyx dipped. One of them held up something, she grabbed it. She flew back up, and held out several objects. Metal bats. I grinned despite myself.

"Take your pick, but the black one is mine." She said. Me, Fang, and Iggy got one, Gazzy got a wooden one, Angel didn't want one, and Nudge said nothing.

"You shall be terminated… Falcon." A robotic voice said. Onyx whirled and her eyes narrowed one emotion reflected in them, fury… vengeance.

"BRING IT, TIN CAN FOR BRAINS!" She yelled.

_BOOM!_ A loud noise sounded and Onyx hurtled forward, even faster than I could fly… not cool, I liked be the fastest. She pulled up inches before collision and whacked the flyboy in the face, I heard the crunching. He fell apart in mid air and plummeted to the ground.

"Let's go!" I shouted to my flock. We surged forward into the cloud of robots. I was ready to kick ass, but I had my eye on Onyx. She fought completely different then us, her style was different. My flock relies on my decisions, and we fight as a team, tag-teaming, and other stuff. Onyx doesn't have that so she fought much more strategically, or dirty. She aimed for the weak points of the body and _slammed_ them.

Three flyboys landed, and tried to jump one of the girls. She was pretty, but didn't look surprised at all. They attacked. "Move-!" I was cut off when she moved so quickly I barely saw it, and half a second later, all that was left was three broken robots.

_BBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!_

A ball of flame brightened the sky, and Iggy grinned madly. There were very few flyboys left, and one… very pissed looking Eraser. Onyx was currently taking him down a few notches. He grabbed her bat… and snapped it in half. I nearly gasped, those bats were NOT hollow. Most Erasers aren't that strong!

"Alexander." Fang said simply. I nodded, watching from slightly above as the two wrestled in mid-air.

"HEY!" Someone shouted from below, "Drop altitude Onyx!" The big burly one shouted. Angel's eyes widened,

"Onyx has a concussion, she's getting blurry vision." Angel muttered.

"Erm… that's bad, right?" I asked, feeling dumb.

"According to Carlisle, who's a doctor, yes, it's very bad." Angel mouthed, "And they're scared she's going to pass out and now they're all sort of weirded out because I can read they're minds and…" Angel paused, "one of them is a mind reader to."

I barely had time to process that because I watched Alexander grab Onyx by her neck, and slam her against the roof of the white house. Her head hit hard, and Alexander punched her to, I winced slightly. There was a blur, and suddenly Alexander was flailing on the ground against a blonde-haired boy. Onyx was in a heap in another one's arms. The one holding her jumped fluidly off the roof and landed, smoothly.

"Land." I hissed.

"No." Onyx's voice growled lowly, and she maneuvered out of the boy's grasp, standing on her own will. "This is between me and him, and it's time in finish it."

"Onyx please!" The blond doctor insisted, "You could have a serious head injury, and your wrist! You might not be able to use it if-"

Onyx growled at hit, "Shut it! You wouldn't understand why I have to do this, Emmett, let the wolf freak go." She said lowly, eyes flashing.

'Emmett' hesitantly let go of Alex, (yeah I'm calling him Alex 'cause Alexander is to long)

"Wow birdie," Alex said, "You _must_ have taken a hit to the head, because this is probabley the worst decision you've ever made."

"Two rules." Onyx spit, "No outside help, you me and fists, got it?"

Alex nodded happily, eagerly, "And the second rule?"

"If you lose, you don't wake up." She said lowly, "If I lose, Itex can have me back." She was serious, and that scared me, "This is a fight where, for once, I will be using deadly force, I'm not fighting to knock you out Alex, I am fighting to _kill_ you, comprende? I. Want. You. Dead. Got it?" She snarled, "Max, Cullens, you got to agree to this, I stick to my word, you should honor it to." She said. It was essentially a death match, because Itex would kill Onyx.

"I…" I stammered, could I really watch Alex haul a fellow bird-kid back to Itex? No. I'll lie then, take him down myself if I have to. "I agree."

"On behalf of my family, I agree as well." Carlisle said. Onyx nodded.

_The mind reader, he'll attack Alex if Onyx loses to, they're friends._ Angel thought to me. I had no reaction, so that no one got suspicious.

"Right, let's get this started." Onyx huffed, and she cracked her knuckles loudly, then shook her hands out. Onyx fought on her toes, with quick explosive maneuvers instead of relying on distraction.

So when Alex spent the time to morph, Onyx took advantage. She swung down hard, her foot connecting with his neck, driving him to the ground. He howled, and lunged, claws racking along her side.

Her fist snapped forward, connecting with the side of his face. It would have snapped a human's neck easily, but not an Eraser's. He shook it off, and circled Onyx, ten feet away. She watched him with dark eyes.

"KICK HIS ASS ONYX!" The little black haired girl screamed.

The two jumped, colliding mid-way, and slammed to the ground. They rolled on the ground multiple times, Alex stomped hard on Onyx's exposed wing while she braced to dislocate his shoulder. Which she did.

He clamped his hand around her neck and sneered, "I think," he growled happily, "you have about a one percent chance of survival, once you get back to Itex, too bad you need to breath." He chuckled. Oooh… I wanted to punch his lights out so bad.

Onyx began to turn a shade paler, the blood was draining from her face. Several hisses rang out from my flock and the Cullens. She was going to be strangled. But I should have known better, Onyx wriggled free just enough to bring her knee up sharply. Alex released instantly, rolling off and muffling sounds of pain. Onyx rolled away to, gasping for air.

"One percent chance, eh?" She gasped, "One percent chance my ass!"

With that Onyx swung a right hook that was truly the end of it. Alex was flattened, and Onyx tackled him, he barely fought back. He ripped his claws into her ribcage again, but it was to late. There was a cracking noise and Alex was still.

Onyx didn't move for a second, but blinked a couple times. Slowly, she stood up , and peeled Alex's claws from her side, wincing as she went. She looked at him once, turning slightly green, "I'm going to be sick." She muttered. The blonde doctor rushed forward,

"Sit down." He commanded, she obliged, almost falling on the ground. "Edward, Alice, get my kit!" He called. In a flash, the two were back with a large bag of medical supplies. "Onyx I need you to trust me." He said when Onyx shied away from the antiseptic smell.

"I… um… uh… I guess I could, Carlisle." She muttered, "But… I might accidently smack you kind of hard like I was trying to knock you into next week." She added quietly.

Carlisle chuckled, "I understand." And he went to work with bandages, sterilizing stuff and stitches. "Well my dear, I will be sure not to underestimate _you_ again, that was quiet the show of perseverance and strength. Quiet amazing really, so different than I've ever seen, not like us, but surely not like a human!" He sounded excited, it made my stomach knot.

Onyx ground her teeth, "Doc, you're making me feel like a science experiment." She said through her teeth.

"Oh, my apologies." He said, placing some kind of disinfectant on the gashes one her side. She flinched. "Hmm… these are quiet deep, and I'm afraid your wrist is broken… maybe a few ribs to, defiantly have a concussion." He carefully tapped Onyx's lower ribs, she coughed a coupled times and spat blood on the ground, "Three ribs, and you've obviously bit your tongue now haven't you?"

"Tends to happen when you're fighting a wolf-man." Onyx grumbled. She looked up at me, "So Max, not too shabby, eh?" She asked, somewhat hopefully. I couldn't help but laugh, in spite of the situation.

"Not at all! Hey, I might even be kind of impressed." I said with a smile. Onyx's face lit up. I wondered again what life would be like without the flock. Her small smile faltered, and she paled.

"Doc…" She whispered, "I think you… missed… something…" Her eyelids fluttered. The doctor's expression blanked. Iggy stepped forward quickly, his sensitive fingers running over her side, searching for something. He found it,

"Gotcha." Iggy said, showing me a tiny, silver object with a bright yellow tip, covered in blood. "Max, what is it?"

"It looks like a needle." Carlisle stated.

"That bastard." I muttered, "Alright, sniff it Ig, see if it smells like poison."

Iggy didn't have time to respond, because Onyx let out a piercing scream that made my blood run cold. She thrashed against Carlisle who was trying to keep her from hurting herself.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" The bronze-haired boy demanded. Iggy sniffed it carefully, then chucked it as far away as possible.

"This I bad Max, real bad." He said, "You know that stuff they used to kill the younger experiments with? The one that killed half of them?"

"Yeah?"

"That was it. That's what he stuck in her."

*****************************************************************

Thanks for reading! Please review, for a preview!

A.C.B. & C.S.M. (newAmerica)


	7. Chapter 6 Cornered

Chapter 6- Cornered

*Song- Falling Behind: Dead by April

**Edward POV**

"_What_ is it?" I demanded from the bind mystery child. I was simply horrified at the reaction Onyx was having, Jasper was cringing away from her in pain, and at the same time trying to soothe it.

"Poison!" The blind child responded. "It's _poison_, Alex couldn't capture her so he was trying to get rid of her!" He shouted out me.

"Well… can you fix it?" I demanded.

"Why do you care?" A sharp voice snapped. The blond leader asked, her cold eyes boring right through me.

"Because she's my friend." I snapped. "And I _care_ about her, got it?" I was growling.

"Whoa…" The dark skinned girl muttered, awed, "Max, check this out!" He said, excitement touching his voice. She pointed at Onyx, "Ig, her teeth."

'Ig' nodded, his fingers jest brushing across Onyx's slightly parted lips. Nudge crouched down and exposed Onyx's teeth. She had… fangs? The third from the middle on each side, were long, slender and _sharp_ white canines.

"Well that's not normal." The blind kid muttered.

"Bird girl has fangs?" Emmett questioned, "Awesome."

"How sharp are they? Ooh, I dare you to touch them!" The dark girl squealed.

"Ten bucks?" The blind one asked.

"Yeah, yeah, sure!"

He touched one of the long canines carefully. "OW!" There was a single drop of blood, gross smelling as it was, "Damn, that's wicked sharp!"

"Check it out!" Another kid whispered, "The fangs are gone, like the re-track-ted!" It was the blind one.

The kid froze, the blind one. He cocked his head to one side. The leader stiffened. They all had mind blocks up. "Reinforcements?" She asked.

"Sounds like it. More than before, and I think they aren't just robots." He whispered.

"Fight or fly?" Another asked.

"Can't fly," the leader said, "We're not leaving Onyx."

The dark haired one frowned, "We barely know anything about her, is it even worth risking? She could be working with them." He said lowly, I growled. He glared at me, and I glared back.

"She is one of us." The blind one piped up, "And…" he was interrupted by a high pitched ringing.

"SCATTER!" The blind one hollered, "Incoming explosive!"

I grabbed Onyx and pulled her out of the way. Emmett jumped forward, and grabbed the blond small girl, pulling her out of the way to. Everyone moved to fast, to be human. There was a whistle, getting louder…

KABOOOOOOM!

A rush of heat and flames engulfed the front lawn. The scene as I looked up seemed to be from some 'world domination movie'. Out of the rubble walked several figures in lab coats, surrounded by a small army of wolf looking creatures, robots and another odd creature that the leader called an M-Geek. They sneered directly at me, and I held Onyx protectively. She was unconscious, but still in pain.

"Hand it over." One of them demanded.

"IT?!" I exploded, "Her name is Onyx! She is a human being, not an it you bastards!"

"_IT_," the man droned robotically, "is an experiment, rightfully belonging to Itexicon. Should these other mutants give us trouble, they will be coming with us as well." He said, "Oh, and we've done some background research, so… Edward, is it?" I froze, "How about a trade?"

And then, another walked forward, carrying… Bella.

BELLA!! A fierce snarl ripped from my chest, and my vision was tainted by red. "Let. Go. Of. Her." I seethed. The man smiled,

"Hand over the experiment." He repeated. I felt like I had just been slapped across the face. Onyx was my friend, was counting on me! They would torture and most likely kill her if I handed her over… but they had Bella, _my _Bella.

"NO!" The blind one roared, and threw himself at the scientist. One of the experiments behind him morphed and lunged, knocking the boy back and sending him flying. He struggled to his knees.

"Iggy!" The leader yelled, "You okay?" The boy, Iggy, grimaced but managed to get to his feet,

"Okay, Max." He grumbled, glaring daggers at the smiling scientist.

"Tsk, tsk, little bird boy should know better. Now, Edward, lest chance or the girl _dies!_ Hand. It. Over." He said precisely. All eyes fell on me, my family, and the flock of bird children. I really had no choice. She was my friend, but I loved Bella. And, odds are we could always go get Onyx later…

I know I was going to hate myself for this.

But I dropped my head in defeat and let the scientist take Onyx out of my arms. There were shouts of objection from the flock, but I barely heard them and ran forward, pulling Bella into my arms. "I'm sorry." I whispered in her ear. She choked back a quiet sob.

"ONYX!" Someone screamed. The flock lunged forward, but the 'whitecoats' and 'erasers' were quicker.

"Retreat, hold them back and rally at the meeting point!" The man in charge yelled as his 'erasers' tried to hold the flock back.

"You bastards! Let her go! LET HER GO GODAMNIT!" Iggy was furiously yelling. I felt terrible, I had just traded away their recently adopted sister. Iggy whirled and pointed at me accusingly, "YOU!" He hollered, "You _let_ them take her! HOW COULD YOU?" He demanded, his voice had a twinge of hurt in it. Carlisle put a hand on my shoulder,

"It was the right decision, considering the circumstances." He said reassuringly. I still felt terrible.

The leader, Max, stormed up to me and glared at Bella, "You better hope she's worth it. Because if we can't get Onyx back I'm going to remove your spleen with a _ball point pen_." She snarled.

"She's not joking." The black aired one said emotionlessly. The flock all paused for a moment, most of them were bruised, battered or bleeding from the blast. The blind one stood up,

"Max…" he said, "we need to organize a rescue asap." He coughed. Max frowned,

"We need to take care of ourselves a little bit first." She said. Curses and plans rang through Iggy's head, but he bit his tongue.

"Well crap! What are we gonna do now?" One of them said quietly. I cursed under my breath.

This was absolutely my fault.

We sat in silence for a long time, until the little blond girl, Angel ran down the stairs a look of panic and desperation on her face.

"What is it, Angel?" Max asks, concerned,

"Iggy!" She wails, "Iggy's gone!"

**Onyx POV-**

Awww… crap. Who whacked me with a baseball bat? Jeez, my ears are ringing. I groaned and shook my head, sitting up. _Bonk._ Wha… why did my head just hit the ceiling? I slowly opened my eyes, it was really dark. And… oh no. I gulped, a cage. A dog cage.

Oh my god.

Oh my god.

OH MY EFFING GOD!

I was back at school! I screamed and slammed my fist into the side of the (pray it's plastic) dog crate.

"OW!!" I hollered. It was thick steal. God damn, nothing is ever easy! I heard footsteps and immediately went on edge.

"Morning mutant." A female voice said, "My name is Dr. Vetra, do you understand what I'm saying?" She asked, then looked away, "Hey, does this thing have speech capabilities?" She asked.

"I dunno, why don't you ask 'the thing'." I snarled lowly. How dare she?

"Oh, good, well maybe some manners would do it good, eh?" She said to another person in the room. "Here you go mutant, a cracker for cooperating." She stuck her hand in through the bars and shoved a saltine in my face. Anger boiled in my. I drew my fangs, literally, and lunged.

I bit her hand as hard as I could, tasting blood. She howled in pain and jerked away, leaving two deep scrapes in her hand. I spit through the bars, "Gross!" I complained. Something kicked my crate and it tumbled over, jostling me and my wings.

"Ugh!" Dr. Vetra muttered, "I see now why no one tries the 'kind for cooperation' approach anymore." She growled. "It's not venomous, right?"

Oh, that would be so awesome. But sadly… "No." The other person in the room answered, "as long as it doesn't have any disease you'll be fine."

"Avian flu!" The doctor squeaked.

"Yep," I popped happily, "you are sooo gonna die, sorry!" I chirped happily. She glowered at me and kicked the front of my cage. Dirt from her boots rained into my cage, lovely.

"Mutant!" She spat, "You are going to cooperate with me or you will be swiftly exterminated and dismantled. Understood?" She demanded. I gave her a blank look.

"Lo siento, señora no hablo ingles." I said seriously, blinking rapidly and putting on my best 'innocent' look.

"Oh, screw this." Someone growled. My cage was opened and I was roughly dragged out.

"Que? No comprendo! Donde estoy? Yo quiero comida!" I whined in Spanish. Someone backhanded me across the face, "Aiye! Que es esto? No me gusta los personas aqui!" I shouted.

"That's it!" The doctor shouted, "Someone make it _shut up_!" She demanded. Someone slapped me across the face, leaving me stunned of a second. In the second, something was slammed around both my wrists and duct tape was slapped over my mouth.

Oooh, clever, now I won't be able to cuss you out while you torture me! I thought angrily, glowering at them. Doctor Vetra sighed, "So much better, I love quiet." I smirked, and tapped my foot loudly. "I SAID, I love quiet, so keep it like that if you value your life!" She snapped. My foot froze and I stopped tapping, then I shrugged.

"What would you like to test first?" The second scientist asked Dr. Vetra.

"Hmmm… is this the subject who out-flew a jet?" She asked curiously, eyeing me in the way that made me feel like I was in a fishbowl.

"Yes it is." The scientist looked at his notes, "Project Onyx, commonly called Falcon by the local Erasers, aside from being supernaturally strong, fast, agile and stubborn has been able to fly with a fighter jet for limited periods of time. This _is also_ the mutant who killed Alexander very recently." He said, eyeing me.

"Oh, very good!" Vetra said, clapping her hands once, "Wind tunnel then?" She asks. I felt my expression fall. Oh no…

"Excellent choice Dr." The other scientist says. I glared at them as several Erasers jostled and shoved me down the hall. The large horizontal wind tunnel could never be used for normal people. Because as soon as the wind got fast enough to peal them off the floor they would go 'splat' on the other end. But, if you have wings, when you get pulled off the ground you can fly.

Thing is, you can only fly so fast, and for so long.

I glare stubbornly as the Erasers attached a long chain to my handcuffs. Long so that if I stopped flying I could slam into the wall at the end of the chamber, but not so long that I could escape. I stood upright stubbornly, no way I was going to hold onto that single ladder rung until the winds whipped up to 120 and I had to fly. Uh-uh! Screw that. The male scientist tore the duct tape off my mouth.

"Ready to fly birdie?" He sneered.

"ROT IN HELL!" I shouted as he walked out. Dr. Vetra talked to him for a second, I couldn't hear anything outside the wind tunnel, the glass was too thick. I breath in steadily as the wind starts up. As the wind cranked up, I was forced to lie on the ground and hold onto the ladder rung. The number at the end of the tunnel flashed.

80… 100…

I gritted my teeth and held onto the bar, flattening myself to the ground as best I could. Unfortunately, humans are not so aerodynamic.

120, blinked across the screen. I growled lowly. 120 was a _cruising speed_. So it's really not worth letting go yet to simply cruise. I smirk at the scientist who are glaring at me, HAHAH YOU SICK JERKS, HA HA!

They glared and I instantly regretted my silent taunting. The machine cranked up.

220! Blinked bright red in front of my eyes, 240!

"I get it!" I growled. My hands were slipping, and I grabbed the long metal chain. Deep breath, and let go, the chain snapped tight, my feet were inches from the end of the tunnel. I was in the worst of the air current. "Alright, you want a show, I will give you a show!" I growled and snapped out my wings. It hurt like hell when the wind slapped into them, it felt like they were going to be peeled off my back.

But they didn't.

God forbid my life should be so easy. I loosened up and flew into the current, already going faster than Nudge told me she could fly.

"Alright mutant," the speaker cracked, "this will be turned directly up to six hundred miles per hour. This is on the edge of your super speed threshold, you will have to use it to prevent from crashing. Consider this your fair warning."

I growled. "How do I know you're not going to crank it to 1000 and I'll go splat?" I demanded.

"Just trust us!"

"NOT LIKELY!" I roared angrily. There was a loud whirring noise, I felt myself losing ground against the tunnel. I ground my teeth together, ducked my head and curled into a streamline position. I was still losing ground.

Ugh… I hate these people.

3…2…1…

I gritted my teeth, hunched my shoulders and poured on the speed. The sound echoed off the walls in the chamber and rang in my ears. My concentration slipped, and I slammed face first into the far end of the chamber. My wings folded, and as the wind caught me again, I was thrown backwards. I had two seconds to scream bloody murder before I slammed into the other side. There was a sharp pain in the back of my head and I collapsed to the ground.

"Cut the wind!"

Dizziness. I was dizzy, my head spun.

"How fast did it fly?"

My head reeled, an my side burned. Broken ribs? Probable. Bruising? Definitely. I think I just threw up… eeewwww…..

"Much faster than 600, it was nearing super-sonic!" Someone said excitedly. I groan and hold myself up on my elbows.

"OH!" I spit, "Yeah, ain't that interesting? I can _fly?_ Hmm… you mean, just like you f**king programmed me to? Aren't you geniuses for figuring that out!" My blood was boiling.

Three things I hate:

Scientists

Being treated like an experiment

ADULTS

I forced my eyes open and snapped to my feet, facing the surprised scientists. I hiss loudly, and their eyes bug out at my super awesome canines.

"Who gave it fangs?! That was never in the DNA blue print! Good god, they must be two inches long!" Vetra's assistant stammers.

Oh yeah, I think to myself, you are _in for it now_. I look down at the chain and handcuffs, it was simple steal. Now I have experimented with my cute lil' fangs before so I think I can do this. I took a deep breath and bit at the chain, tearing it with my teeth. There was a high-pitched keening, cover-your-ears-gives-you-goose-bumps-because-someone-is-tearing-metal-with-their-own-teeth kind of noise. The scientists stared at me with horror.

"Rule one," I snarled, "If you're going to create something don't make it to strong because then when it wants _revenge_… It. Will. Get. You." I snarled. Erasers readied themselves for my attack and I bared my teeth, "Come and get me."

"ENOUGH!" A deep voice boomed. It was not like any of the voices I had heard before, "Step aside," the voice growled, "our partnership with your company is thin, do not think that if you do not cooperate we will spare you. You are _all_ disposable."

**Third Person POV- **(because the dude is evil and I don't do evil so well so 3rd person it is!)

"You are _all _disposable." The voice snarled. The scientists cowered back for a split second before the man entered. His master had spies all over the world, the infiltrated every corner of every country. And as the second in command for a strict brotherhood of assassins, he was well feared.

"My apologies, Damien." One of the scientists murmured, "It was preparing to attack us."

"It?" the voice questioned curiously, "The experiment is female, and also wishes to be treated as such. For our use of the experiment, I require complete cooperation." He was amused, the employees at the company his master assured him were well credited, yet could not even handle the experiment.

Speaking of the experiment, his gaze shifted over to it… or, her rather, as his master insisted she be called. After all, master wanted her to cooperate and help him in his plans. She stood at about five foot nine, one of the shorter avian hybrids. Her wings were fully spread, the fathers tan with a reddish tint, he could easily see the well tuned muscles in them. He looked her over, evaluating her health and strength in a glance.

"Take a picture." She growled, "It will last longer." She snapped, a certain anger that the assassin savored boiling up again.

"Ah… Falcon." He said warmly, a sneering smile crossing his face, "You are not who master wanted, but I suppose you will have to do." He said, then turning to the whitecoats who had failed him, "And master would like a word with you, about your _inability_ to capture Maximum Ride."

"Maximum Ride is not alone!" One of them insisted. Damien's eyes narrowed, "We could not capture her, she is… completely different from Falcon-"

"Then capturing _this_ one should have been mere child's play." The assassin interrupted calmly, "This one is no 'Maximum Ride' whose name you speak with reverence, as though she were some god. Do you think of your work so highly, even though you cannot control it?"

"It was protected!" One insisted, "By the flock and other in-human creatures, mutants created by the traitor Jeb, no doubt!" He said accusingly,

"Yes, you are quick to accuse…" The assassin drawled, "Even though it was Jeb who created the most successful mutants, and has helped you… on occasion."

The experiment coughed rudely, "Er… Damien, is it?" She asked. "Well since you got these guys," she jerked her hand towards the whitecoats, "cowering in their boots, I'm assuming you're in charge."

Damien nodded, "That would be correct."

A sinister smile appeared on the girl's lips, her long front canines protruding over her lower row of teeth. The assassin kept a straight face as she spoke, "Excellent, this is going to be fun." She said. The assassin moved quickly, at the speed of a mutant, as he was also one. He placed a blade against Falcon's neck.

"It will be." He said lowly, "Because if you so chose, you can work for me, and never have to undergo experimentation at this place the call 'the school'" He sneered at the name, "ever again!"

The result was something that Damien, a well trained and experienced assassin was not expecting. Instead of fear showing in her eyes, something else burned with such an intensity that it shocked the assassin into silence.

Fire.

Fire, indignant, angry and determined burned in her eyes with a blazing intensity.

"Kiss. My. Ass." She snarled, then spat in his face, literally. The assassin tossed the girl aside, wiping his face in disgust.

"Damien!" Voices echoed off the walls, full of concern, "My apologies sir, I will have it… I… I mean her, punished right away, sir."

"No." The assassin snarled, "It will not be punished." He sighed, "The aggression… the determination… it is… more than I expected, much less so than Maximum Ride but it is there. This is good. It must remain this way, after all I have plans for Falcon."

"MY NAME IS ONYX!" The experiment shrieked indignantly.

"And you will be glad that I call you Falcon and not 'it', am I understood?" The assassin snapped. Falcon, or Onyx, fell silent. The assassin sighed and rubbed his temples. "I hate that you have two names.

"I hate that you breathe." She spit back at him, "But that's not going to change things either, now is it?"

"We are the same." Damien said after a long pause, "Both mutants. Except, my master cares for mutants and trains them, he gives them purpose."

For a moment, Falcon was silent. Then, "I have a purpose, finding the flock."

"And once you find them? It seems like such a small quest to place your whole life in the hands of." The assassin asked, bemused.

"I'll help them." She said simply.

"What a boring life."

"And you have something better in mind?" She snapped. The Erasers crowded her, ready to restrain her should the experiment take a snap at the assassin.

"Indeed I do. Join me," He said, like a villain out of a movie, "and we shall end the wars of the world. Establish a single domain, true, powerful, _unstoppable._"

"Don't forget impossible." She snarled at him, eyes blazing.

"What angers you, dear child?" The assassin asks.

"Being used." She seethed in response.

"Ah, but if we work as a team, you will not be used." He replied.

"And how would you keep up?"

Damien smiled, "You might have guessed, because I hear you are incredibly intelligent, that I am a mutant… a hybrid of sorts, as well." He smiled, flashing canines similar to Falcon's. She glared, "My dear, your lovely canines were not in your original DNA blueprint, but added at the last second by my master, so that I might recognize you when the time came."

"I thought you wanted Max." Falcon stammered.

"True." Damien shrugged, "But we always knew that she would probably unreachable, and that you would be far easier to reach, being as you were created as a loner. Funny," He continued, "It seems as though Itex knew they would fail with Max, and that she would escape, so… the created you."

Falcon's anger flared. "You son of a…"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Damien interrupted, "Now, I have a proposition for you. First option, you do not agree to my terms and I let the School dismantle you in a few short minutes." Falcon shuddered at the words, "I thought so, so option two. Come with me, work with my army, be a soldier in the greatest army ever assembled… together we will bring a end to the corrupt reign of men with power, and give it to the citizens! Who have earned it!" He said with a compelling voice. "Together," His eyes sparkled as he placed his hands on the girls shoulders, "We can take back what belongs to the people."

Falcon was silent. Her mind was churning with doubt. Falcon was an odd experiment, created to be intelligent and self sufficient, but she had many flaws. Besides having little ability to blend with humans, having extreme paranoia, and the fact that she often struggled to make the right decision in the clutch (Falcon would probably never survive a situation where she would have to choose the blue wire or the red wire to cut, she would run out of time, not being able to make a decision) perhaps her greatest flaw was that she had had so little experience interacting with people who wanted to talk to her…

The problem was, Falcon could be easily manipulated by anyone who meant her well. Damien knew this. Itex never did, because they never reached out and tried to manipulate her, persuade her.

"I…" She stammered, the imaged Damien had planted in her head blossoming wonderfully as he had wanted. Her face hardened and Damien waited, her final decision was already made, all that remained was the spoken answer, "I agree, you have a deal."

Falcon was promptly taken outside, hands cuffed, to a large armored truck. She swallowed heavily.

_I've just made a terrible mistake._ She thought, _but when my other option is death, what choice do I have?_

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

The assassin glanced up in the rear-view mirror once, the stone face mutant glared back at him. He sighed, she _would_ trust him. How could she not? She was incredibly easy to persuade, the girl had math smarts and fight smarts, but no people smarts! Physiologically she was completely helpless. Easy prey, a new mind, ready and willing to be shaped!

And of all people, how could she possibly resist the offer when it was _him_ who was offering it?

After all, he always had been able to control minds. Hers was simply very, very easy. It was probably the mutant in her, he thought dismissively, weakening her. No matter, every recruit had flaws; Damien would have them cured in no time.

*********************************************************

**0.o Will Falcon… I mean Onyx's weak mind be her downfall? Maybe…… but you must review to find out, and… ya know, if you want a preview.**

**Chana- Yeah, it's getting old Akari**

**Me- Says you.**

**C- Yeah and I do believe I co-wrote this!**

**Me- Previews were your idea!**

**C-… no……….**

**Me- Mhmmm! They so were!**

**C- Damn you!**

**Me- That's it, you're off the story!**

**C- *gasp!* You can't do that!**

**Me- Your right, I can't.**

**C- HAHA!**

**Me- Damn you!**


	8. Chapter 7 Foxtrot

Chapter 7- Foxtrot

*Song- No More Sorrow: Linkin Park

**Max POV-**

I paced just inside the Cullen's front door, not talking to them but occasionally shooting 'Edward' accusing glances. He just traded away Onyx! Who _trades_ their friends away? I mean… Onyx was sort of mysterious and kind of weird, but Angel and Nudge like her! Iggy… probably like her, hard to tell what Fang thought and Gazzy certainly thought she was okay! So she was sort of like an honorary flock member. I mean… she has _wings_, so she's sort of one of us… as long as she's not a clone I don't really see much wrong with letting her travel with us.

But Edward _traded_ her? Now that's an easy way to make a terrible first impression.

"I had no other choice." He said, his voice rough and strained.

"Don't care. Don't want to hear it." I snapped.

"It was Onyx or Bella! Onyx is my friend but I _love_ Bella!" He insisted.

"Well I hope it's nice to know that you killed my friend for your girlfriend." I said coldly. "She's probably dead now."

And honestly, no matter how many times I told myself that I just said that to scare Ed-weird, it was most likely true. Onyx was… more, how can I say this without sounding like an evil heartless murderer… oh yeah, _I can't_. Onyx was more expendable than the flock, therefore the School couldn't care less about killing her, especially since they've had nine years to experiment on her. If she's lucky, they sold her.

Hey, you catching this mind reader? I thought sourly.

He nodded, with his face in his hands, he looks sad… haha, well he _better be! You just sold a human being to her death!_

"She's not dead yet!" He growled at me.

"And you know this how?!" I shrieked at him, my fists clenching, "You think you're so smart, you know what? I don't give a damn that you can read minds! I could care less, that's fine with me! But you want to know what makes me mad?" I growled, "That you aren't looking for her."

"What?" He asked dumbly,

"If I had just done… whatever it is you did, no, don't defend yourself, I'm not done talking," I said when he opened his mouth, "I would _have gone after them!_ I'd be on their tail, trying to get her back!" I snapped.

Edward stood up, glowering at me, mistake number one. "If you want her back so bad, why don't you go get her yourself?" He growled, mistake number one.

"Because my flock is injured because _a bomb just went off in their faces._ Now, explain to me why _you_ aren't injured?" I seethed.

"I don't have to explain anything to you, you're just a kid." He said coolly. Mistake number three. Strike three, rather, you're out!

I whirled around and smashed my first into his annoying pretty-boy face, "That was for Onyx!" I shouted, feeling my hand sear in pain, I ignored it. Then, snapping my knee I kicked him in the stomach, "And that was for Iggy!" Finally I brought both my hands together and smacked the side of his head as hard as I could, "And that's because YOU ANNOY THE HELL OUT OF ME!" I was yelling by the end, and little Eddie-boy was on the ground.

"Ouch." His brother muttered, "That looks like it hurt."

"You want to find out?" I growled, Fang was backing me up.

"Incoming!" Angel said, rushing down the stairs, towing lice by her hand. "Iggy's back!"

My heart swelled when I saw him landing in the front lawn. Sprinting through the front door, I nearly tackled him to the ground and wrapped my arms around him. "Never," I growled, "ever do that again!"

He sat up, he looked defeated. He was bruised, cut up, a walking skeleton, "Max," he said, "She's gone." I didn't comprehend what the words meant, "Onyx is gone." He repeated. Same words, different meaning, "Itex sold her."

"S…s-sold her?" Nudge's voice quivered from inside. I was frozen, simply starring at Iggy's cold and broken expression.

"They sold her to this company who…" Iggy swallowed hard, "They take kids and mutants and brainwash them, cuz' he can control minds, and they turn them into soldiers and make them fight." He said in disgust, "They send them across the world to fight for the company who bought them, they want to end all the wars by making children be the army." Iggy said.

I was frozen in place. School was bad.

This was worse.

Now we had no way of finding her, she could be anywhere in the world. Wherever they shipped her off to. She could be dead, and we would never know.

*******************************************************************

**Onyx POV-**

I woke up at 5:00 AM sharp. It was my fifth day at the camp, if you could call it camp. I stayed in a tent/cabin with five other kids about my age, three of them mutants as well. The floor was dirt, it had three wood-plank walls, while the roof and front wall was canvas. There was a tiny basin for a sink, were we washed our faces in the morning.

I began to wake up wondering why I was here, why I hadn't run yet. My thoughts wandered to the myths about Damien, that he controlled minds… that he had hypnotized everyone. Then of course, there were the collars. Electric collars, around all of our ankles. If we ran, they killed us, if we went out of range, the killed us, if the guards caught us stealing, they could set them off… the collars were the main thing tying us here.

"UP!" A voice barked, throwing the canvas flap of our front wall up, "FALCON!" The voice yelled. I sat straight up in bed and jumped off, I was on the top bunk.

I was face to face with someone who you might call the 'drill sergeant' in this 'army'. Really, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like an army. But I couldn't call him 'drill sergeant' to his face, nope, I like my life thanks. It's 'Officer Johnson, Sir' or just 'Johnson Sir' or officer sir, sir, sir officer, sir Johnson officer…… okay, you get it.

"FALCON!" Officer J barked, "Why is your squadron not up and ready?" Squadron?! What am I, a marine?!

"It's five o' clock, sir," I said, "we've just woken up." My 'squadron' sat up in their beds and hastily jumped down, lining up behind me. Yeah, I reminded myself, this is the army. I'm in an army, just not one that I believe has a good cause. I'm in it because I was sold into it for five thousand dollars. Now that hurt, I'm worth more than five Gs!

"It is two past!" Officer J snapped, "Reset your watches and get your troops outside our your squadron will be finding itself a new C.O.!" He barked.

C.O.

That's me.

I'm the 'commanding officer'. Honestly, the more I try to talk about this, the more ridiculous it is. Can you even picture it? An army of mutant an orphan children run by adults like we're the US Marines? I'm pretty sure that's illegal. Anyways, me and eight other kids arrived on the first day, most of them were mutants from Itex, but five were from Bio-Tec Labs. Labs… ugh. We were introduced to Damien, and he named us as the C.O.'s of our groups, and told us that we would get our 'troops' the next day. And… he called me Falcon again…

"_My name is Onyx, those who wish to die call me Falcon."_

"_Those who wish to die?"_

"_Mostly Alexander."_

Hmm… maybe they all wanted to die.

"Alright," I faced my 'troops'. I preferred the word 'friends' and 'comrades'. "You heard drill man!" I said, "Let's get out of here in five, and not be late again!"

My cabin fit six people, we had three bunk beds a tiny bathroom with a showerhead on the outside, attached to the wall, which thankfully had tarp surrounding it, but still _cold much?_ There were three other mutants beside me. They didn't have names when they were created, they made there own, and they were bought by the same company that bought me.

First there was the youngest, Pyre, she was twelve years old and had long blonde hair that I braided for her, and her eyes were sky blue. Why was her name Pyre (which means fire)? Because the girl had this creepy friendship with fire, it did whatever she wanted, but it took a lot of energy and concentration, most of the time she had a little candle going on her index finger. I don't know what DNA gave her that kind of ability…

Next was Shadow, who was a quiet girl about my height, with short raven black hair that could look purple sometimes. It reminded me of Alice, but a bit shorter. She was a mutant because she was part chameleon. Shadow could make her skin and clothes she was wearing look like any color or pattern she wanted it to. Shadow didn't talk much, because she found her parents… and they sold her because they were ashamed that their daughter was a 'mutant freak'. Her eyes were constantly violet, giving her a… interesting first impression.

The next two were twins, twin brother and sister. Their names where Talon and Viper, and they were both some kind of feline hybrid, most likely leopard or cheetah. They were my age, Talon was a girl and had short brown hair, just like her brother Viper. Talon's hair came to her shoulders and Viper's just touched his ears, they both had brown eyes. For leopard hybrid twins, they were pretty cool, even though they were completely different. Talon, whom I started calling Tally, literally had this creepy X-Men thing going on where she could make eight inch long, razor sharp, cut-through-metal claw things grow from her finger tips. The result was that the tips of her fingers were always silvery. Viper had mad fast reflexes, could run faster than a car could drive, jump higher than a flipping kangaroo and was as lithe as a panther. That boy was hell to fight, which is why I never did get on his bad side.

Last but not least was Ricky. He had light brown hair that was cut very short, and green eyes. Ricky was actually a normal kid, well… sort of. He was one hundred percent human, normal in that sense, but that's where it stopped. The kid lived on the streets for his whole life, now he's my age. He was in a gang, and when he was eight years old, shot and killed a cop. He didn't mean to, the cop shot his brother and no one ever told him about police and that they do try to help you. The kid had mad vision, could shoot a toothpick off a Coke can from one hundred feet away. He was a computer genius and knew everything about technology. O.F.N.P. (organization for new peace) offered him a home and food, he accepted. O.F.N.P. was the army we worked for.

You know what I think O.F.N.P. _should_ stand for?

**O**fficially **F**reaking **N**ot **P**ossible.

I mean, what is an army of mutant kids gonna do? Chew the other armies knees off!? I mean really! We have no weapons, no training… I mean, come on guys! This is basic needs for an army!

"You're muttering, 'nyx." Pyre said, passing me to go wash her face. Pyre called my 'nyx… which sounded more like nix to me, instead of Onyx. I pat her head and walked by her towards Talon and Viper who were lazing on the same bed, looking at a comic book.

"Yo, leopard twins, ready?" I asked.

Talon sighed, "Guess so, you better get ready though, wouldn't want out 'commanding office' getting us there late, would we?" She said, making air quotes around commanding officer. Why was I C.O.? Mmm… cause I got wings and Damien likes me? Hell if I know, I don't have a clue!

Grumbling, I walked over to my bed and pulled out my faded, puke-green shirt that you see people in the military wear. Throwing the shirt on over my light tank top, and slipped on my baggy camo pants. Camo pants? Hmm… taking this military thing a bit seriously aren't they? Why yes, yes they are. I even had freaking combat boots! How ridiculous is this?

"Anyone seen Shadow or Ricky?" I asked looking around.

"Ricky is taking a shower," Pyre said, stepping out of the bathroom, "and Shadow is washing her face. She jumped out and surprised me." Pyre pouted, I couldn't help but smile.

"Alright Pyre, come here and I'll braid your hair before they yell at you for having it down." I chuckled and sat down on Ricky's bed, he was the bunk beneath me, Pyre folded herself on the floor.

"Nix," She asked, "When are they gonna let us go home?" Her voice was full of sweetness, I chewed my lip.

"I don't know Pyre… they might never, because they bought us and… we belong to ONP now." I said.

"Well… why aren't we doing anything?" She asks, "ONP hasn't even talked to us yet." The last part was a whisper.

"Rubber band." I said, and she handed it to me, I tied the braid off, then sighed. "I don't have any answers Pyre, they don't tell me anything either."

"But your Damien's favorite!" She insists, "And you're an angel!"

I fight back a gag, "I'm no angel Pyre."

"But… you have wings…" She insisted.

"So do hornets, and planes, and Flyboys and even bats, but no one calls them angels."

Pyre was silent.

Ricky walked in, letting the canvas' metal edge slam against the wooden floor as it closes, "Oi!" I shout, "Watch the noise levels, will ya?"

He shoots me a look and throws his shirt on, "Oh… my bad." He rolls his eyes.

"Why so bitter?"

"Cause, I don't want to be here." He said simply.

"Join the club." Viper muttered from the corner. Viper talks less than anyone, and I thought Shadow was quiet!

"Come on guys," I said, "No one wants to be here, but we can't exactly leave." I see my pack (I'm calling them my pack now!? Well… I can't exactly call them a flock…) look down at the electric bracelets on their ankles. "Alright guys, breakfast time!"

"At five in the morning…" Viper grumbles.

"Enough sarcasm." I snapped.

Walking outside, the cold was a bit more than I expected, and I shivered a bit. After all, I'm only wearing a tee shirt. The mess-hall was on the other side of our poorly laid out base, we walked through a muddy, puddle filled path to get there. Other packs emerged from their cabins to, their C.O.s waving at me, because we had to take our own attendance, give it to Sergeant Collins, then he took attendance again. I waved back, holding up my fist. No fingers, none missing. One C.O. held up two fingers, two of his were missing. I winced, if they didn't get back then that C.O. was going to have a very short day and a long afterlife. We lined up outside the mess-hall and waited.

"ATTEN-CION!" Barked Sergeant Collins. Everyone stiffened, a new kid didn't, and looked around confused, like I did my first day. Collins stopped and looked down at him. "Name." Was all he said, the boy didn't respond. "I SAID NAME, SOLDIER!"

"Nick… sir…" He stammered.

"Nick huh? That short for something?" Collins said harshly.

"Telekinetic." Nick mouthed.

"Well _Nick_, where's your cabin?"

"Don't have one." He said quietly.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU, SOLDIER!"

"I don't have one, sir!" Nick said more loudly.

"FALCON!" He barked suddenly. I stepped forward and snapped into a stiff, ramrod straight at-attention stance.

"Sir." I said.

"New recruit will be in your cabin, understood?"

"We have no more beds, sir." I said, without letting my frown show.

"Then he'll have a sleeping bag and can sleep on the floor! Have I made myself clear, C.O?" He barked, glaring at me.

"Yes."

"Yes… _what?"_

"Sir, yes sir." I said. He was in my face, five inches away. I gulped.

"Good." He said and walked away. Then, roll call started. This was probably the thing I found most confusing. Mostly because we didn't have numbers for our cabins, which would have made sense, but no. We had the _phonetic aviation alphabet_ for our cabin names. The first time I heard that, my only thought was 'what the hell?'

All of this was so confusing, but I all really had to remember was that I was 'foxtrot'. They didn't even pick every letter! Nope, they picked random ones, not in order. I clenched my chart in my hand, it had the C.O. names and the cabin names on them. Cabin name was listed first, followed by the CO's name.

_Alpha- Shale_

_Bravo- August_

_Charlie- Ariah_

_Delta- Arrow_

_Echo- Ruka_

_Foxtrot- Falcon (ya…)_

_Romeo- Kirin_

_Sierra- Artemis _

_Tango- Diam_

If you were a military enthusiast this might be cool to you. What with all the weird names and the guys in funky suits yelling at you. If this seems cool to you, let me kindly slap you upside the head. It's not cool, it's not fun and it's just weird. I don't like violence, or people telling me what to do, therefore I really, _really_ don't like be in the ONP's little army of mutants.

"Delta?"

"Missing two, sir." Arrow responded. The Sergeant stepped closer to him,.

"Where are they?" He said lowly,

"I don't know, sir."

"Well," the Sergeant exhaled, "NICK!"

The boy from before jumped, startled, and then stepped forward, "Yes sir."

"You be going team Delta, Arrow is you commanding officer." He said then began to walk away.

"Sir!" Arrow called, his voice rising, "What if they come back, sir?"

The sergeant smiled, "They won't be."

I gulped. That means the two kids were out of range from the base, out of range for their electric collars to signal their location back to base. The collars were set off, a failsafe mechanism, and the kids were killed. Arrow paled.

"Understood." He muttered, sending Nick a cutting glare.

"Moving on, Echo!"

"All here." Ruka said, her straight flame red hair falling in her face. Ruka was the only other C.O. I talked to, Arrow hated me and the others were distant. She was a mutant from Bio-Tec Labs, and had wolf DNA in her. She was lithe, agile and way to flexible to believe, but the mutations messed with her appearance a bit. She was chalk pale, and her hair was the color of orange crayons. Her eyes were like a wolves, and they glinted in the dark when light hit them, one was brown one was completely white. The Sergeant glared at her, and she stared back, her hair fell in front of her eyes.

"Tie your hair back, officer!" The sergeant snapped, "Foxtrot!"

"All present." I said back. The sergeant paused.

"All present… _what?"_

I bit back a growl, and dug my nails into my palms, "All present, _sir_." He sneered and continued on, shouting out cabin names. Gotta admit though, I like the word… foxtrot… foxtrot, foxtrot, foxtrot, foxtrot, foxtrot…

"Dismissed."

The giant mass of mutants and humans shoved their way through the main door, slightly disorganized. Meals were always chaotic, but I wasn't complaining, it was the only part of the day that wasn't run like we were in the Marines. Breakfast today was what it always was.

Oatmeal mush, scrambled eggs, gross looking green stuff and water that tasted like iron… what was always for breakfast. None the less, it's food, so we all inhaled it as fast as possible before they would take it away. They usually give us about fifteen minutes…

**********************************************************

**Chana- So Akari let me write this…. And I know it's random and I went off on a tangent but…**

**Akari- WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY STORY!??!**

**Chana- I spiced it up a little.**

**Akari- *growls***


	9. Chapter 8 Prison Break

Chapter 8- Prison Break

*Song- We Weren't Born To Follow- Bon Jovi

**ONYX POV-**

They usually give us fifteen minutes.

"Alright!" Damn, that was only twelve! Cheap skates! "I know many of you are wondering why you are here," Damien… was talking, "but you are here for a good cause, to better the world!" He said, I couldn't think of a sarcastic remark, maybe he really could control minds. "Together, we will end world wars! We will feed the hungry and establish one solid rule over every country! One rule! No more reason to fight or steal, a perfect world within our grasp!" He said, then lowered his voice, "All we have to do, is take it."

Perfect world… no more war… peace… feed the hungry… one rule… no reason for war….

Cheers erupted from the mess hall. People were banging on the tables and clapping, I found myself clapping, and not knowing why…

"Now, who's ready to start training?"

Thunderous cheers echoed off the walls. We marched ourselves outside, and sized up the obstacle course that had been built before us.

That's when the mind-control-buzz starting wearing off.

It was really a grim sight, at five thirty in the morning, there was no sun, it was foggy, and lines of mutants were lining up for military training. My pack started at one end, I looked it over and saw that the biggest obstacle would be descending the large wall… when the officers had pellet guns and looked like happy vulchers.

"Right," I whispered to them, "circle up, I got a game plan."

"But… you said yourself, you good at getting yourself out alive, not everyone else." Ricky said sourly, "Why do you get to make the game plan?"

I snarled, curling my lip. He stared at my teeth and reeled, "Got it?" I hissed. He nodded, looking a bit green. The last thing I needed was a power struggle. "Viper and Talon go left path, make sure to watch for any staff, they'll be waiting for you and you'll be first to the wall." Their eyes flicked up at me nervously, "Don't worry, I'll be there." I assured them, "Pyre, Ricky and Shadow take right path… but be careful of the ground, there's tear gas mines." I said, "If you set on off, close your eyes, hold your breath and run, don't leave anyone behind guys, it's gotta be all of us that cross the finish. This is really all or nothing, and my pack will not be nothing." I said, a fire tinting my voice.

"Foxtrot, ready!" A voice called. We crouched behind a short wooden wall, our cover, poised to sprint. "BEGIN!" The voice shouted. My pack didn't move and inch. The staff, who thought we would move when they said begin tossed a tear gas can, I heard it hissing, but it passed. I smiled to myself.

"Alright," I whispered, "on my mark." The nodded. "On three," which means on two."

"One… two… _move!"_ I hissed through my teeth. My pack split and exploded into action, sprinting through the course as tear gas cans wailed loudly through the air. I took a deep breath and steadied myself, _this will be the first time we fight as one._ I thought, _the first time they see me fight, gotta make a good impression._

I flipped myself over the wooden wall and sprung into the air, snapping my wings out. The feeling of flying was glorious, and empowering. I was nearly lost in the joy of it, even in the dark obstacle course, in the freezing cold, surrounded by tear gas and people who wanted to beat the shit out of me. A muffled yell brought me back.

I turned, and saw Ricky fighting a man with a large metal pole in his hands. He was just about to swing it at Ricky's head… I dove.

I landed, feet first with a dull thud, wings fully extended. The whitecoat… I mean, the dude… I might as well call him a greencoat, he's like a whitecoat really, but with a _green_ shirt. The greencoat smirked at me, and laughed,

"Oh! Look, a little girl with wings, this is rich!" He chuckled. I snarled lowly. Let me tell you, it did not sound human. The greencoat stopped laughing, "Alright, mutant freak, bring it."

Oh, is he going to regret that.

I lunged, and snapped my fist forward, connecting with his jaw. The force was enough to flatten a human. He reeled backwards. I grabbed a canister from the ground near him that he had dropped. It was made of metal, and I broke it open with my bare hands. I heard Ricky take a surprised step back.

A mist seeped from the can, I shoved it in the greencoat's face then pulled his shirt up over it so it stayed in place, he gagged and flailed. I looked back at Ricky, who's arm was bleeding all over his sleeve.

I signaled to him, a code I had developed especially for us, he shook his head. Well shit. Split second thinking, I ran forward, grabbed him and leapt into the sky, "Hang on!" I said, as gravity started taking effect, I rolled my shoulders back and unfurled my wings. He paled,

"Oh god, oh god, put me down!" Ricky whimpered, a touch of green entered his face.

"Barf on my wings and I will drop you." I said seriously. Ricky looked down, and nearly screamed, clinging to me so hard that I yelped and lost a little altitude. A snarl slipped from my lips as I righted myself. I saw Viper hauling Talon over to the wall, she was coughing up a storm. Pyre and Shadow were almost there. A circle of flam surrounded them, burning off the tear gas before they could inhale any.

I dropped Ricky off with my pack. "Injuries?" I asked, my eyes sweeping over them.

"Minor." Viper said, wiping away the blood that was trickling down his cheek. I felt a swell of pride, I didn't teach them… no, I could never do that, but they were fighting with _me_, and I know an honor when I see one. Viper was tougher than nails.

"All that's left is the wall," I said, looking up at the fifty foot wall. "Climb up as slow as you need, descend as fast as you can, it's too high to jump it. I'll give you cover from the greencoats, and take out the pellet gun. Meet you at the finish line." I said, snapping them a mock salute.

Jumping up, I scaled the wall and my hands gripped the top. Suddenly, they seared in hot pain as the pellet guns went wild, I felt blood covering my palms. _Ignore pain, pain is your body telling you that you have to stop, ignore the message, block the pain._ I chanted in my head, throwing myself over the wall. Soaring up, I tried to dodge the biggest clump of danger, where I was bound to get hit, but I still felt some of them tearing at my skin. I pulled one off my shirt.

_What the hell?!_

These weren't b-bs! They were tiny metal things, spiked and sharp! This could kill someone, I thought, astounded. This could kill someone. My thoughts repeated, slowly, as the gears turned and the information processed this could kill a human for sure. Something clicked into place. It could kill a human…

Ricky.

I felt a rush of anger spur me on, and I poured on the speed, shooting through the air like an arrow. I had to get there before Ricky made it over the wall. So close, so close, so close!!!....

A scream told me otherwise.

I whirled around, and saw Ricky dropping off the wall. Viper lounged, grabbing his hand, but Ricky didn't even try to hang on, he just fell. Furiously, I flew towards the bastards who shot at Ricky. They were on a platform, still grinning like idiots when I landed.

"YOU HURT RICKY!" I shouted and brought a kick down on the pellet guns that the held. The guns slipped from their hands and I saw their wrists bend at awkward angles. There was four greencoats, and they were _pissed._ Whirling and punching at the bastards who were surrounding me, I noticed that no matter where I punched I hit something.

That's because I was surrounded.

Rolling back my shoulders and standing suddenly up out of my crouch, I snapped out my wings. The sudden blow caused the officers to topple over and off the platform. They landed and were soon stuck fast in the mud. I didn't even look to see if I had knocked them out, I barreled back to the wall.

Viper was nearly down he was only fifteen feet off the ground, so he jumped and scrambled through the mud to Ricky. I met him there,

"How bad?!" I demanded over the growing noise, the rain had started and people were yelling.

"Really bad!" He yelled. Viper had his hand over Ricky's side, and dark liquid was covering it. Ricky was bleeding out.

"HEY, WE NEED A THE MEDIC OVER HERE!" I screamed at the staff. That should have done something, this was all a training exercise, and now they should help us. But no one moved. "YO!" I shouted, "GIVE US SOME HELP OVER HERE!"

No reaction, but someone did pull out a clipboard and start writing. I felt my heart drop into my stomach. Viper's fists clenched and I heard hisses from Shadow and Talon. Pyre grabbed my hand, eyes wide.

"It's just like the school…" I muttered, "They wanted us to think this was training, that they're here to help, but they aren't. They're experimenting with us to. And when they're done, they'll put us into a warzone to dispose of us…" My voice was hoarse.

What have I gotten myself into?

"No pulse!" Talon shouted at me. I froze up, what the hell do I do now!? What's that thing… uh, CPR? I don't know that! "Someone _do something!"_ She shouted. I reached out and tore part of Viper's shirt off. He eyed me steadily.

"Calm down, I'm trying to save him, not excite you." I hissed, he shrugged. Wrapping the cloth around Ricky's side, I pressed it down firmly. Pyre was by my side, doing CPR and chest compressions.

"BREATHE!" I shouted at Ricky, "Breathe damnit!" There was absolutely no reaction.

"Oh my god… oh my god… Ricky… no, no, RICKY!" Pyre sobbed, Ricky was sort of like an older brother to her.

I ground my teeth together. I've never been one for the whole "comfort you're friends when their crying" bit, honestly, I don't have friends. But I think I'll try the "beat the shit of the guys who made you cry" approach.

And that is what I intended to do. They made it easy, they were already walking over here.

I coiled to attack.

"Calm yourself, mutant." One of them said, and held up a tiny red-trigger device, "We wouldn't want you to get electrocuted for misbehavior, would we?" I growled, bristling with anger.

"You bastards killed Ricky!" I spat.

"He would have been killed later on anyway, he was irrelevant." He snapped at me.

I snap-kicked his jaw, hoping I broke it. Tackling him to the ground, I pressed my hands around his neck, "You lied." I growled, "This is just like the school! You're playing mind games with us, ALL OF US!"

Kids were gathering now, wondering what was going on.

"THEY LIED TO US!" I shouted, "They don't care if we live or not, they just want to experiment on us!" I snarled. The mutants shuffled uncomfortably. "And it's all because they can control our minds!"

The greencoat beneath me was turning a lovely shade of blue. His buddies were clawing at me, trying to pull me off.

"FIGHT!" Someone yelled, "IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE FREE, FIGHT!" It was Talon. She and Viper were getting ready to back me up.

Someone jumped Tally from behind, she whirled and snapped her wrists down, her longs metal claws shooting out instantly, "You don't want to do that boy, trust me." She snarled.

All hell broke loose.

Mutants were everywhere, attacking the officers who got close enough. Pyre, my new buddy, was putting a literal meaning to 'light 'em up'. Viper and Talon were working together and taking them down, Shadow disappeared and went around using her favorite move… sleeper hold. Arrow was organizing his pack and attacking as well. Ruka stood beside me,

"Was there any planning in this?" She asked, huffing as she blocked another attack, "Or did you just get really pissed, and really lucky?"

"Uh…" I managed, "Both?"

Ruka smiled, "Excellent, oh, and duck." She said, and took off after another greencoat. I stared for a few seconds, then heard a light roaring in my ears. Throwing myself on the ground, I ducked and narrowly avoided getting my head taken off by a giant silver thing that flew through the air.

"Get that controller!" I shouted, pointing to the silver switch that linked right to our electric collars. Several mutants rushed forward to try to pry it from its keeper's hands. Damien.

Damien, who could control minds, who convinced us to stay here long enough for them to put the shock collars on us in the first place. It was Damien who could make us all stop fighting right now and merrily walk off a cliff to our deaths, and we would think we just won the lottery. I began to feel the haze in my brain.

For the first time since I arrived in Forks, I slammed up my mental barriers with as much force as I could muster, and Damien was kept at bay. His gaze snapped to mine immediately, eyes narrowing,

"How?" He hissed angrily, stepping towards me. I smirked,

"Because, like you said, I'm so _speshel_." I sneered at the word, knowing he was referring to my lack of intelligence when he said that. It just felt good to sneer his own comment back at him.

"Onyx." He said seriously, "I know who you really are."

"That's nice. I know that I don't give a damn who you are." I said, slowly picking up a gun on officer had dropped.

"Your name is Rafaela." He said suddenly. I paused, "Your parents never knew that their doctor worked for Itex, and they've been looking for you. If you help me, I'll help you find them."

I frowned, on the one hand I could betray all the mutants and finally have a normal life. I could live with my parents… I could be normal, what I always wanted…

In a flash I pulled the gun out and pulled the trigger. "I'm sorry mom and dad." I muttered as Damien collapsed, and I bit back tears and shakily dropped the gun.

Ugh, I never want to use one of those again. I reached down and grabbed the controller for the electric collars. Inhaling deeply, I placed it between my palms. As I exhaled, I pressed my hands together, slowly crushing the device.

"MOVE!" Someone screamed. The greencoats were going all out, they had guns and were being way trigger happy. The chain-link fence around camp hummed to life as the electricity was turned on. Right, now I'm pissed, and I want out.

Getting me mad is not smart.

I jumped into the air, and circled the scene, drawing fire from the greencoats. Pyre leapt forward, and the area where they were shooting from burst into flames, roaring sky high. I flew up to the top of the building and snapped a metal rod, probably and antenna of some kind, off the roof. It was half an inch thick, was solid steal.

I circled back and dropped out of the air, landing squarely between the mutants and the greencoats. My wings were fully extended, I was in an offensive crouch and I bared my fangs. I imagine that with the constant rain it was quite the effect. Lunging forward, I brought the steal antenna down hard n the leaders skull, and he shouted in anger. Pulling out a gun, he fired a shot that just clipped the edge of my shirt, leaving a burn on my side but drawing no blood.

"Oh, you have so got to die." I growled. I noticed that the flock had a mostly no-kill policy, but I find that what you don't kill comes back to bite you in the ass. The greencoat smirked and tackled me.

"So, mutant, maybe you think you can kill me. But you can't, because I'm just like you, a mutant, and I'm stronger than any human could possibly be." He sneered, and grasped my arm with a crushing force. I shrieked when I felt the bone crunch and drew back. I spit in his face.

"Fuck you!" I snarled and snapped my legs up into his stomach.

"You are going to die." The greencoat growled as he attacked again. I leapt back and snapped out my wings.

"I am not scared to die." I spit back at him, "Go to hell." He smirked,

"Oh, I'll see you there, Ms. Teenage-murderer." He retorted, slowly circling me. I growled lowly. He lounged forward, preparing to strike. I through my arms up to block. I realized a second to late that it had been a trick, and I had fallen for it.

I had put my arms up to protect my head, so he adjusted and drove his foot hard into my stomach. I doubled over in pain and threw up. He slammed his fist into the side of my fist and I saw spots of color explode behind my eyes. He was stronger than me.

Think, think! Everything has a weakness! Use what you have that he doesn't. I jumped into the air and snapped my wings out. I had a move, a move that was sure to get him and at the very least knock him out, but I had never tried it before. Why? Because it involved flying at 350 miles per hour, slamming into the ground at speed listed above and using my momentum to flip forward, hopefully absorbing the impact.

Well, to hell with it, I'm screwed if I don't, and if I do I'm probably screwed anyways. I poured on the speed until I hit near where I wanted. Circling the greencaot at close range I was creating a small vacuum, sucking out his air supply. He made a gagging noise and fell to his knees. I saw my opportunity, and took it.

I attacked, pile diving both him and myself into the ground with the force of a crashing airplane. My body jarred with the impact and I rotated forward, grabbing the greencoat by his collar, I dragged him with me as I did a full flip. I brought myself to a sudden stop and slammed him to the ground again, my hand was around his neck. And it was broken. I inhaled sharply and snapped into a stiff upright stance.

Ruka whistled.

"You okay, Nix?" Pyre murmured. I noticed that most of the greencoats lay in the mud, groaning or not moving.

I spit, and it was red, so I wiped the corner of my mouth, "Fine." I growled. "Let's get the hell out of here before these bastards get reinforcements." I growled.

There was a crackling noise, and I looked over to see a mud covered, pissed off Talon racking her claws through the electric fence. I shot her a look, she growled, "Those bastards tried to cut my claws off." She said lowly.

We walked through the fence, and it turns out we were ten minutes from a town, who would have guessed? One of the mutants stopped, he pressed his ear to the ground.

"There's an underground tunnel system that starts at a hotel and goes straight to an airport, we can hop onto a plain unnoticed." He said confidently.

"Where will this plane be going?" I asked.

He smiled, "Anywhere we want it to."

I frowned, "Seattle." I said suddenly, "Seattle, Washington." I smiled, "Lead the way then." He snapped a salute and started running.

There was roughly thirty of us, some hadn't made it to escape, and I would have some kind of memorial service for them, because they deserved it. I silently prayed for them quickly. The boy, Echo (haha, supersonic hearing boy is named Echo!) led us into a crowded, fancy hotel lobby. A camera crew was filming the dance, I groaned loudly. Echo tried to push past the security guard. I heard sirens, cops were coming. Shit.

"Look!" I snapped, stepping forward to face the security guard, "We're on the run, if you don't move we die. So if you don't step aside right now I, on account of my fellow mutants will knock your lights out." I said, police officers burst through the front door. "To late." I said and snapped a hard right hook into the guys head. He spun once and collapsed onto the ground.

We burst through the door and sprinted down the cement stairs to the basement, one cop followed us, and a camera guy. "Stop!" They yelled.

"KISS MY ASS!" Viper spit and chucked something black at them, it made a dull thudding noise. We hurried down the corridor, cop in close pursuit. As we passed a security camera, Talon jumped up and sliced it in half with her claws. I turned and watched, making sure the cop didn't get to close.

Five minutes later, the cop couldn't keep up, but we heard whirling sirens on the street above us. We were sprinting through an underground tunnel with barely any light. Suddenly, abruptly, the tunnel ended. Echo stepped forward and listened, "Left!" He shouted, and we barreled further down the left tunnel. There was a ladder at the end, "It goes to a small airport." He muttered, I nodded and watched as the mutants slowly climbed up it, I went last.

There was a popping noise, and a bullet bounced off the wall. I whirled to face five cops and a camera crew. Well, shit. I hissed loudly, and signaled for the kids to keep going. "Go, I'll catch up!" I hissed. The cops came forward slowly. I stood my ground, keeping distance from the cops and my pack.

"Ms, you'll need to come with us." One of them said sternly. "For breaking and entering, assaulting a hotel worker and destruction of private property."

I cocked my head to one side, "How about no." Ruka was near the top of the ladder, she was the last one besides me. She whistled sharply and held her hand down to me. I coiled and jumped, grabbing her hand then snapping my wings out, flying us out of the tunnel. It was a straight shot, five feet up in a concrete cylinder to the top.

I landed in a crouch and Ruka and I sprinted to catch up to the mutants. They were running across the airport tarmac towards a smaller plane. "They kidnapped a plane and pilot," Ruka huffed, "told him we'd pay cash, more than he makes in a year." I smiled despite my injuries which were driving me insane.

There were cops _everywhere_. "How much you wanna bet we made the five o' clock news?" I asked Ruka, who cracked up. The little plane that my pack piled into started taxing down the runway. "What the hell are they doing?!" I shrieked. Pyre poked her head out the door,

"COME ON NIX, FLY!" She screamed. Another plane was coming in, low to land. That's when it clicked, if this plane landed first we would have to wait, and the cops would get us. Then Itex could easily pick us up. I grabbed Ruka's hand and jumped into the air, snapping out my wings and accelerating easily. We reached the plane in like, two seconds and I angled my wings so that we flew into the door. It slammed behind us.

Ruka and I tumbled into the front row of seats. I bit my tongue and Ruka made an 'oof' sound. There were cheers from the mutants on board. I stood up and limped to the cockpit. "Fly." I growled at the pilot, "Now." He nodded and the plane accelerated down the runway.

The incoming plane was close, we could hear it's jets thundering, the pilot's face was stone and mine was to. As we lifted off, we moved closer and closer to the other plane as it moved down. It was so close that I could see inside the passengers windows to their shocked expressions.

It roared over head, missing us by mere feet. The jet engines were so loud I covered my ears, Echo was writhing in pain back in the cabin. The pilot looked back at me and grimaced, There's a med kit in back, some of you really need it." I nodded and hurried back.

"Seriously injured, back of the plane now." I snapped. Three kids got up and followed, on was Arrow, who had a broken arm, the other was a girl whose hand was missing two fingers and bleeding profusely, and the last was unconscious, and brought down by Ruka and Pyre. I quickly wrapped up Arrow's arm so it wouldn't move, bandaged the girls hand injected the unconscious kid with morphine after checking his wounds.

I settled into a seat in the front row with the other C.O.s who smiled at me. "What?" I demanded.

"We all just think you're quite the military genius. That attack was pure gold." Ruka said happily I groaned and rested my broken arm and shoulder,

"Whatever." I grumbled and tried to relax, "Whose bright idea was this plane? I hate planes. I always feel like they'll crash, and I'll die." I muttered.

"Coming from the girl who can fly." Arrow muttered, I shot him a death glare.

"It was Echo's idea." Ruka said, "And it's our best shot to get out of here, what's in Seattle anyways?"

I smiled shortly, "Friends." Was all I said, then drifted off to sleep.

Unfortunately, I was woken up not long after by a banging noise as the plane jolted. I jumped to my feet, "What just happened?" I demanded from the pilot.

"The left engine just blew a fuse, it's stopped working." He stammered.

"Shit!" Was all I said. I ran back into the cabin, "Get ready for a crash!" I shouted, and my pack sprang into action. I ran back up to the pilot.

"Where are we, exactly?" I demanded.

"Flying over the Canadian Rockies, near Vancouver." He gulped.

"Can you predict how the plane will crash?" I pressed, if it just skids along it's belly, we're fine. If not, I bail and carry as many people as possible.

"Spiral." He said, "Only the right engine is working, so the plane will spiral down to the right and impact nose first." I ran back out of the cockpit.

"Everyone stand on the left side of the plane!" I shouted, trying to keep it from tipping, "Pilot!" I shouted, "Altitude?"

"15,000 feet!" He shouted back. I grimaced, that was pretty high, but I think I could handle it. I reached for the door,

"EVEWRYONE HANG ON!" I shouted as I threw the side door open and jumped out. The wind snapped me sideways and I tumbled into immediate freefall. Snapping my wings out hurt like hell, but I had to catch the plane. Pouring on the speed, I worked my wings hard and caught up just as it started titling to the right. I grabbed the left wing and positioned myself next to the engine that stopped working. I worked my wings even harder and felt the plane stop tilting. I was now acting as the left engine. Straining, I forced myself to fly at the same speed. I hoped I could keep this up long enough for the engine to get itself fixed.

_Sheen!_ I thought, hoping he would hear me, Sheen, like Angel, could read minds. He was soon at the window looking at me, _Tell the pilot to bring the plane down as quickly as it's safe, I've got the left engine under control, but I don't know for how long._ I thought, he nodded and disappeared. I bit my lip, _Sheen, call this number and ask for Alice._ I thought, and relayed him the number.

"With what phone?" He demanded through the window.

_The pilot's phone you retard!_ I thought angrily. He glared for a second. I was starting to… actually, I was getting really tired. My wings were screaming at me in protest. The last time I had flown this fast I ended up unconscious, this time I really didn't have that option. There was a high pitched noise, and I turned to see that the left engine had _fire_ coming from it. My eyes widened, and the fire expanded, the left engine blew itself up.

The world hates me.

I screamed and let go of the plane's wing, plummeting into an open freefall. Some of my feathers were on fire and something had sliced through my shoulder. So much for the engine getting fixed.

I froze mid fall, Nick was watching me from the door intently. Then I remembered, he was telekinetic. In the next five seconds, he pulled me back into the plane. I practically collapsed into Viper's arms and he helped me back into the cabin.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I can't feel my wings." I said… wait a sec, "Oh my god, I can't feel my wings!" I practically screamed, "Ah!" Talon got up and slapped me across the face.

"Calm." She hissed. I nodded and slowly rolled my shoulders. Ow! She smirked, "You can feel your wings now, can't you?" She guessed,

"Yeah and it hurts like hell!" I snapped. The plane jolted suddenly.

"Falcon!" Someone yelled,

"Call me Falcon again and I'll snap your spine!" I snarled, and looked up at very surprised Sheen, "My name is Onyx." I muttered lamely.

"Uh-huh." He nodded. "Alice Cullen on the phone for you." He said and handed me the pilot's cell phone.

"_Onyx!"_ She practically screamed on the other end.

"Alice, don't explode at me!" I pressed, "I'm on a plane, I escaped with a bunch of other kids."

"_Care to explain?"_

"No time!" I said franticly, "Our plane is crashing the left engine is blown! We're just outside Vancouver flying over the Rockies." My words were as rushed as I could make them.

"_Oh my god! Can you land the plane?!"_ She demanded.

"No chance in hell." I muttered. There was another loud bang and we all felt the plane drop. Sickeningly, the plane lurched right. People started screaming, "SHUT UP!" I hollered. "Alice, you gotta help us, send a search party, we're flight 224-Can-Am Air." I said, "We're all mutants, if Itex finds us first we're as good as dead!"

"_Got it,"_ She said, _"Once the plane crashes, stay inside the cabin as best you can, there's a nasty blizzard in your area right now."_ She said. I thanked my few lucky stars that Alice was on my side.

"Thanks Al-" I was cut off when Pyre screamed.

"I can see the ground!" She wailed. The kids panicked as the plane rolled over. None of us had been wearing seatbelts and I was thrown against the wall. Then we were all on the roof.

"Hang on everyone!" I shouted, and tucked into a ball, protecting my head.

"_Onyx!"_ The voice on the other side of the line screamed.

The plane slammed into the side of a mountain, the jolt threw everyone forward. People were yelling all around me and I felt a sickening crack somewhere in my wings. The plane was miraculously in one piece, but sliding down the mountain. The wings were sheared off and the tube-like cabin was rolling like a log. Someone knocked into me and I smacked against a semi-broken window, glass dug into my back and where my wings grew.

I saw Viper slam into a chair in the cabin, he flailed and grabbed it, his nose bleeding and crooked, "Mother fucker!" He yelled. Talon nearly slid past him, "Grab my hand!" They clung to each other despratly.

Pyre landed next to me and I grabbed her hand before she could be thrown away. Pyre grabbed Talon's hand, who was holding onto Viper. Echo, Shadow, Arrow and Sheen were clinging to each other. I snagged Ruka's arm before she could roll into the metal cabinets near the front of the plane. The plane kept rolling, but was suddenly air born again. For a brief second we were weightless, then the plane slammed down again, denting the side. We continued to tumble, but slower. With each roll, I smacked into the side of the plane. I felt a grey fog taking over my senses, I gripped Pyre's hand harder, and she squeezed back.

We took one final lurch, and my head slammed into something hard. I felt my consciousness rapidly slipping away and pain was exploding behind my temples… all over my body really. I forced my eyes shut.

"_Onyx?! Onyx?! We're coming for you Onyx!"_

* * *

**Max POV-**

"Max, Max!" Angel called, rushing up the stairs, "We got it!" She cried, waving the papers in my face, "We figured out what the papers Onyx had in her backpack are!" Iggy ran up behind her,

"It's your basic code, and then a genetic blue print. Basically it lays out what she is and the mutations she has, it also motions her birth name." He explained, then with a sly smile, "Holly Jane Mason." He smirked, "What a girly name."

"Yeah," I muttered, suppressing a laugh. Girly name as any, but _Holly Jane_ was a little Catholic school girl name.

"Have we found anything besides her name, like something… I dunno, helpful?" I demanded. It had been six days since Edward traded Onyx away, and the possibility of us finding her got smaller with each passing day.

"Well…" Angel made a face, "Not really." I sighed.

"Awesome." I mumbled under my breath. I dragged myself off the couch and marched over to the fridge. Orange juice… milk… aha! I grabbed a soda and turned to walk over to the table.

"Wah!" I yelped and flailed. I nearly walked into Fang, who had snuck up on me again.

"I GOT IT!!" Alice yelled from across the house. I sighed, of course, little psychic. I counted to three and the phone rang. Alice never misses a call. Ever.

I yawned loudly and walked over to Alice, who was frozen in place, her expression was not good. I took a sip of my soda as I watched her, it tasted so good. I nearly gulped the thing down right then.

"ONYX!" Alice screamed.

I felt like I'd just been punched in the stomach, I dropped the soda can, and accidently spat my sip of soda out all over Emmett, who was standing to close.

"EW!" He hollered, "Human spit and soda, get it off, get it off, get it _off!"_

I ignored him and stood next to Alice, listening to the conversation.

"Care to explain?" Alice asked, looking completely shocked and terrified.

_No time… engine exploded… Vancouver… over the Rockies_, was all I heard.

Alice's face was still one of shock. The Cullens and my flock were gathering around Alice. "Oh my god, can you land the plane?!" She suddenly shrieked. _Land the plane?! Exploded engine!?_ My thoughts went haywire, what had happened to Onyx?!

Alice talked rapidly into the phone, "Got it," She said, "Once the plane crashes, stay inside the cabin as best you can, there's a nasty blizzard in your area right now."

"Oh my god." Iggy muttered, Nudge shrieked,

"Onyx is in a plane crash!? What is she doing on a plane, where was she, what happened?" I slapped my hand over her mouth. She shut up and sobered up.

There was a loud banging noise, so loud that Alice held the phone away from her ear. She numbly set it on the table and turned up the volume.

"_I can see the ground!!" _ A young girl's voice screamed. There was a dull thudding noise, repeating over and over, as if sacks of potatoes were being thrown against the wall.

"_Hang on everyone!"_ Onyx's voice yelled.

A huge, loud, violent sound explosion like sound made me jump, followed by the sound of metal being crushed. I swear I heard about twenty different voices. _"Mother fucker!"_ Someone yelled. _"Grab my hand!"_ My heart clenched as the grinding-banging noises continued. The shrieks and screaming didn't stop either. With one last jolt, there was a sudden, eerie silence.

"Onyx? Onyx, we're coming for you!" Alice said into the phone. She looked up at me, "Canadian Rockies, just past Vancouver." She said.

I bolted for the door and wrenched it open. Emmett stopped me, lunging and grabbing my arm, "Hey!" Alice snapped, "You can't just run off blindly."

"Why not?" I demanded angrily.

"One," Alice started, "Because you'll fly directly into a storm, two because there are twenty three mutants on that plane, I don't know how many of them are dead, but I don't think they would take to kindly to you grabbing Onyx and running. Three, we need to get there fast, and only you have super speed for flying, so your flock is either grounded or we carry them. We _need_ as many people there as possible, and Carlisle especially." She stressed.

I sighed and clenched my fists, "I'm leaving in ten seconds." I said, grinding my teeth. "I'll grab Fang at super speed, Emmett carries Iggy," Iggy looked like he would, "Iggy I'm shooting you a death glare." I snarled. "Rosalie carries Angel, Alice carries Nudge, Esme, can you carry Gazzy?" I asked.

"Of course." Esme said kindly.

"Alright, let's go." I said, and turned for the door, leaping into the sky I spread my wings. Fang grabbed my hand, and I shot down the slight shiver it caused. "Ready?" I asked. He nodded, expressionless.

I poured on the speed, and followed the Cullens, watching them from the air. We're on our way Onyx, I thought stubbornly, and we _will_ find you.

**Onyx POV-**

Bright lights.

A strong light, shining through across my face, piercing my eyes. Cold. Very cold. Slowly, numbly, I opened my eyes.

The scene around me made me wish I had kept my eyes shut.

There was twisted and contorted metal everywhere. People were moaning in pain, and stirring. There was blood on the walls. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. Then I remembered…

_The engine exploded in a flash. Plane… crashing… mutants…ONP, escaped… mountains… crash… _

I sat bolt upright, oh my god! I searched around, for familiar faces. One unfortunate mutant, near the tale of the plane, knocked into a bunch of appliances. Electrocuted. Instantly. I felt bile rising in my throat. I wondered how many had died. Mentally, I recalled the starting number.

There was fifty mutants at ONP…

Six were killed in the jailbreak fight, including Ricky, leaving 44.

Twelve mutants were detained, and are most likely now _dead_, before they could escape, leaving 32.

Shale, the leader off 'Alpha' was among them. He lost everyone in the fight.

Three couldn't keep pace with us as we escaped into town, leaving 29.

The police cornered six, leaving 23.

Overall, we had gone from 50 to 23, losing 27 mutants, just over half our troops.

So, twenty three, I thought. Then I subtracted the one who had been electrocuted. I began searching through the plane as the wind lashed through the open door. Pyre, Viper, Talon, Ruka and Aria were all alright. "Where's Nick?" I croaked to Sheen. He looked around,

"Last I heard from his thoughts," He winced as he freed his arm from under a chair, "he fell out of the plane. He stood to close to the door." Sheen winced, because Nick was his friend.

"REPORT!" I hollered, "NAMES A.S.A.P!" I demanded, I wanted to hear how many were alive.

I heard Pyre, Ruka, Viper, Talon, Nick, Echo, Kirin (leader of Romeo), Artemis (leader of Sierra), and the other leaders, Diam, August and Ariah, but no Arrow. I heard only four more names, Jett, Nitrus, Raven and Cleo. For the hundredth time, I felt my heart clench. Numbness washed over me.

So that's it, I thought, slowly falling apart. There's only sixteen of us left, including me? Who died? Nick, Arrow… and five others I never had the chance to meet…

Tears welled in my eyes. "We should bury them. Give them respect, they've had a hard life and deserve to be put to rest the right way." I said hoarsely. They nodded. We silently gathered up the kids who had died, most were in one piece. I can't explain the emotions then… it's… impossible.

We used tarps to cover them, then, standing outside in the blizzard, carefully buried them so that no animal would ever disturb their sleep. "Rest in peace." I muttered.

The wind ripped around us and we hurried back into the plane. We all were banged up, covered in blood, and freezing.

Pyre scooted next to me and… well, set herself on fire. She was fine, her clothes were fine, everything was fine. It was just warm… and nice.

"What now, Nix?" She asked me quietly.

"I don't know Pyre," I breathed shakily, "I just don't know." Please, if there is a God, let Alice find us.

_Before_ we starve or freeze to death.

* * *

**O.o Don't you just love it??? I have had to stop previews cuz Chana… well she's… bitching.**

**Chana- I AM NOT!!**

**Akari- YES YOU ARE!!**

**Chana- STOP YELLING!!**

**Akari-…. No you.**

**IMPORTANT- A message from Akari and Zeri: we have been working on a new fanfic! We would really appreciate it if you took the time to check it out! It is a La Push pack fanfic. Sam's little sister, who's been at an orphanage, finally returns, and now she must face a new kind of challenge. The challenge of dealing with the supernatural. During Eclipse, will she survive the new born army?**


	10. Chapter 9 Freezing Flames

Chapter 9- Freezing Flames

*Song- The Kill: 30 Seconds To Mars

**Onyx POV-**

Silence.

Sometimes, silence can be calming. On a beach, by yourself, watching the sunset, it's calming. Other times, the silence plays with your sanity. The first night in the plane was a new kind of torture, different from pain. The silence was the pain. The torture was the solitude, and the isolation. Sleep was impossibly uncomfortable, my left wing was so badly injured that flying was impossible. For the first time in the longest time, I couldn't fly.

The skies were the limit now. I couldn't even get up there! I cried for a while before sleeping. Pyre, our little flame, went out after some late night hour, exhausted and hungry. The cold was the worst part, freezing and numbing at the same time.

Hunger was another thing. Our metabolisms were too high, and our food supply to low. I've gone without food before, but dumpster diving provided. There was absolutely nothing here, not even wildlife.

"Onyx?" Talon asked.

"Yeah?

"Do you here that?" She asked, nervously. The wind was whistling so loud, that it drowned out most noises.

"What, the wind?" I asked sarcastically. She shook her head. Pyre looked up,

"No… that buzzing noise." She said, Pyre sat straight up.

"_Flyboys!_" She whispered harshly. Flames burst from her hands, and there was light in the cabin again. One word. One word and we were up, on full alert. Flyboys. I knew they would come, but this was a damn fast response. Most people would run and hide.

And really, until recently I would have run to. Protect only myself. But people were depending on me now, and I'm not used to that. But there's one thing I do know. I can't let them down. We left the plane, the sun bright over the mountains, rising higher. We were survivors, and now we were refugees once more. The white of the mountains threw the light everywhere, giving the entire world beneath our feet an amazing range of color, orange, purple, pink and red. You never know how strong you really are until being strong is the only option you have left.

We clambered out of the plane, and stood on its top, scanning the air with our eyes. The flyboys were a way off, maybe a minute or to, because I couldn't fly.

"You shall rise." Pyre sung, in a shaking voice, "Sooner or later you must try, living."

"See tears that flow like rivers from the skies, when others turn and sigh, you shall rise." Pyre smiled, her voice rising, a pretty soprano. I remember hearing the song to, in a video protesting genocide.

"There's disasters in your past, boundaries in your path, what you desire will lift you higher. You don't have to be extraordinary, just forgiving. You shall rise, and lift toward the skies."

Gathering, sixteen of us on the top of the plane, holding each other's hands. We are bonded forever, coming from different corners of the Earth, but brought together by impossible situations. Without each other we would have died, that bond is unbreakable.

_Sooner or later we must try, living!_

_Ay, umm, humm, umm_

_You may never know, you may never know!_

_You shall rise._

_When others fail, you prevail in time._

_See the nation through the people's eyes,_

_Where it seems there's only border lines,_

_You shall rise!_

_Ay, umm humm umm._

_O-yay, ow-yay-ay, aay!_

"Sooner or later we must try." Pyre smiled at me. I smiled back, feeling unstoppable. When you have people who love you supporting you, how can you fail? Pyre was the heart and soul, the motivator of the group.

The Flyboys landed, and we were ready. Prepared, strengthened, willing, and ready to fight not as individuals, but as one. Fifty Flyboys, and sixteen of us, even enough. After what we just went through, there was no way in hell we would ever stand down again.

**Max POV-**

"Come on!" I growled, "How hard can it be to find a plane?!"

"The plane is white. The mountains are white. The sky is white with clouds. Everything is _white._" Iggy pointed out, "I can actually see… but everything is so damn white that it's hard to see much of anything."

"I'm gonna go bonkers." I muttered, swooping up, leaving Iggy with Emmett. I continued towing Fang along at super speed, "Getting sick?" I asked, he shook his head. I smirked, Mr. strong and fearless was getting dizzy.

Ugh, I did not just think that.

"Hey, we're getting closer!" Edward called from below, "Look ahead, there's black streaks, like oil on the snow!" He shouted. I peeled off left and saw that he was right. A black streak like an ugly scar cut across the snow, between two peaks.

"Can you smell anything?" I shouted down to them. We scaled downwards, following the skid marks, as they grew more violent. _This is where the plane hit and started rolling._

"I CAN SMELL THEM!" Emmett bellowed. "HARD RIGHT!" I swerved into a narrow passage, mountains rising up like spires on both sides. Sure enough, a wing was sticking out of the snow, sheered completely off the plane. I dove, dropping below the clouds and hunted for the plane. Blue letters popped out at me, a signal saying, '_here we are, right here!'_.

_CAN-AM AIRLINES_. That was it. Then, what I saw made me do a double take.

A small swarm of Flyboys, and several mutants, fighting in the snow. Other mutants, a small girl, with jet black hair, lunged for one and jabbed claw like talons into the base of its spine. A tiny blonde girl was seemingly on fire, and the Flyboys around her were catching aflame soon as well.

I spotted Onyx. She was taking on a large clump of Erasers, stepping near the edge of a steep cliff dropping into a valley, she forced one off, but it flew right back up. _FLY!_ I thought. She didn't.

"Angel!" I barked, "Tell Onyx u & a!" I demanded, Angel, now on the ground, nodded.

"She can't!" Angel yelled a moment later, "Her wings are broken from the crash!"

I growled, "Fang, fly." I said shortly and let go of him, he snapped his wings out and flew alongside me as I peeled off towards Onyx.

"NIX!" Someone screamed, Onyx looked up at the tiny blonde girl. She pointed to a Flyboy behind her, that Onyx hadn't noticed. It had a gun, I held my breath. Onyx threw herself on the ground, and the shot sailed over her, making her hair swirl but never touching her.

That was to close.

I dropped altitude and landed beside Onyx. She looked _bad_, real bad. Beaten up, exhausted, completely battered, a complete mess, broken, and starving were some handy adjectives. The small blond girl had joined her.

"Max!" Onyx exclaimed, her eyes wide with slight shock.

"Eyes up!" A commanding voice snapped, and Onyx re-focused. Two more figures joined her side. They looked exactly, except for the fact that one had long Wolverine-like claws. She lunged forward, ripping through the nearest Flyboy while her twin tangled with another one. The little blond girl, with her jaw set, sent a pillar of flames straight up, burning the ones in the air to a crisp.

I found myself wanting to protect this little group. Well, for now at least. Onyx seemed to be protecting Pyre, despite the fact that she torched anything that came near her. The girl seemed to be tiring, and Onyx moved in front of her. I maneuvered to the side, taking out the Flyboys on her right flank. One of them, I saw from the corner my eye, lunged for Pyre, dangerously close to the edge of the snowy outcrop. Beneath us, where the snow dropped away, it plummeted hundreds of feet into a deep black lit valley.

Onyx jumped in front of her, shoving her out of the way. The Flyboy hit Onyx, making her stumbled backwards.

"NO!" I screamed as Onyx flailed and toppled over the edge off the cliff. Come on, I prayed, be able to fly, be able to fly!

Something blew by my ear. A pair of dappled white and tan wings dove for the valley. Iggy dropped straight down into the black crevice. I was frozen in place on the ground. The whole little mountain side might as well have been frozen. The Cullen's blurred over to the ledge next to me, and Fang circled up above it.

Iggy soared back up, Onyx in his arms.

He landed carefully landed and set her down, she looked a bit shocked. "Holy crap," She muttered, "free falling is scary when you can't fly!" She croaked. I forced out a shaky laugh. Iggy wrapped his arms protectively around Onyx.

"NIX!" The blond girl squealed and tackled Onyx. She wrapped her arms around Onyx and wiggled into her open arms. Onyx laughed. "I thought you died!" The girl squeaked. The other mutants surrounded her, joining in the hug.

"Pyre, guys," She said, looking at them, "Meet Max, her flock, and the Cullens." She smiled and took a big dramatic breath, "Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy, Angel, Emmett, Edward, Jasper, Carlisle, Rosalie, Bella, Alice and Esme." Exhale. "Guys, meet the pack." Onyx said to us, "We all ended up at the same place, and organized an escape. There used to be… fifty of us…" She trailed off, glancing around uneasily, "So, this is Pyre, she Viper and Talon were in my group… then there's Nick, Kirin, Echo, Nitrus, Raven, Jett, Cleo, Artemis, Diam, August, Ariah and my good friend Ruka." She said, smiling at the girl with purple eyes.

Ruka shook my hand, "Nice to meet you, Onyx talked about you guys." She said.

"You look like hell." Emmett commented. It was true, they were all covered in bruises, cuts, dirt and dried blood.

"Been through it to," Onyx grimaced, "they say hi, Max."

Ah. Itex and hell were interchangeable in Onyx's vocabulary. I growled quietly, "They can go jump off a cliff."

Onyx nodded slowly, a wind tore through and she shivered. "Let's get the hell out of here." She said finally. I nodded,

"We _do_ have a way to get them _all_ out of here, right?" I asked, stressing the all. Alice smiled,

"I did plan for this, even though I can't see them, I did plan." She said sweetly. "In ten minutes, a new helicopter will arrive here, on autopilot. The helicopter will have a friend of ours in it, don't kill him please, he's an important business connection. Tell him where you need to go, he'll take you there, he's already been paid." Alice explained.

Onyx looked torn, "Nix," the little blonde, Pyre I reminded myself, whispered. "Nix, are you leaving?"

"I have to." Onyx said, taking Pyre's hands. "I've got my own mission, and you've got yours."

"What is it?"

"I'm telling you, right now." Onyx said, "There's a school made for special kids just like us. I want you to go there, and buy a house." She reached into her pocket, "Here, I nicked it from Damien two days ago. It's enough to get a house, and if not, there's two credit cards in the envelope to. They link to his banking account, it'll be enough." She smiled, "Ruka's in charge, because I trust her not to blow you guys up by accident."

The girl named Ruka stepped forward with a smile. "Onyx," she said, with a fake wise voice, "for the little time I have known you, I have come to understand that you are strong, courageous, witty, quick on your feet, stupid, rude, and have no sense of self-preservation at all." She smirked, and Onyx laughed, "My friend, though your actions were heroic, you totally screwed us over twice, so I'm kind of taking over your leader position." She snickered.

I suppose this sounded mean, but between two friends, they just laughed about it. Onyx was nearly in tears. "And so," Ruka continued, "I bid you farewell." She saluted.

"Aw, come here you big, stupid mutant freak." Onyx managed and hugged Ruka. She took a big steading breath, "Take care of yourself, and them. All of them. I'll miss you guys… call if there's major trouble." She said.

Ruak smiled, "I better see you on the news someday soon. And _not_ for shop lifting Wal-Mart. There's only one way to put a stop to all this craziness, you and I both know that."

"Yeah," Onyx sighed, "well… goodbye Ruka." I got ready, spreading my wings. Edward stood next to Onyx, he would be carrying her, because even though she could fly faster than me, both her wings were injured.

"Bye kid, good luck." Ruka said warmly. She sighed, "You know, I think you need to say a few words before leaving though. Thank a few people." She said seriously. Onyx nodded and walked over to the several freshly dug and filled in graves.

"Guess…" She started, "I guess I owe you guys. Well, actually I owe you guys a lot. Especially you Nick… you saved my life, and… well, I guess no good deed goes unpunished. I hope if there's heaven, that's where all of you are… and, Arrow, I forgive you. Next time I have to go through something as hard as that experience was, I'll make sure to never bother hating anyone. You taught me that. Shadow, I know you didn't talk much, but I think I came to consider you my friend. You did matter, no matter what anyone said. I hope no one ever bothers you, ever again, and you can be how and who you want to be. For all of you I never had a chance to really meet… I'm sorry. I'm sorry you ended up at ONP, and that the plane crashed, and that you… well, I'm sorry that you couldn't have had longer normal lives." She breathed deeply, "And, there's someone none of you guys ever met who I owe more than any of you. Even you, Nick. He isn't buried here, he died before we escaped. But he made the escape possible. His death sparked the fire, metaphorically, it set me off…" She said, blinking back tears, "his name was Ricky."

Pyre, Viper and Talon stood rigidly. "Ricky, I don't know your last name, sorry, you were the most amazing _normal_ kid I've met in a while. I mean, you were a human at a mutant boot camp! You were amazingly strong, no matter what those jerks said. I'm… so… sorry. I don't know how to even tell you how sorry I am. I should have seen them sooner, should have known they'd play dirty… should have been able to stop you from getting shot. But I couldn't. And that's failure on my part. But, you taught me a lesson, that I am, no matter what my DNA says, human, and people make mistakes. Lives to short, enjoy the little things. Rest in peace Ricky, wherever you are. I hope you get to see your parents again." The last words were strained. Onyx was crying silently now, and both Iggy and Edward hugged her at once.

"Time to go." Iggy said. Onyx nodded and steadied herself.

"Ruka." She said, tossing the girl a snappy salute.

"Onyx." Ruka said, smiling knowingly at her joke. As I flew away, I noticed how Ruka stood, at the head of the group, watching us go, a joyful smile on her face.

Iggy flew up next to me.

"_Ack!_ Put me down!" Onyx exclaimed, squirming in his arms.

"Iggy," I asked, "why are you carrying Riah? I thought you were going with Emmett, and Edward would take Onyx. Where's Fang?"

"Uhh… I switched with Fang." He said, shooting me a grin.

"I'm gonna be sick." Onyx moaned.

"Iggy, what the _hell _are you doing?" I demanded.

"Flying." He said simply.

"Why are you carrying Onyx?" I snapped, getting a little irritated.

"Because…" He said slowly, "Um, because Onyx wants to fly!" He said. I sighed heavily, and Onyx shrugged.

"Fine, take my hand and do not let go, 'cause I have a feeling the 'splat' won't be so nice." I said, grabbing Iggy's hand. He nodded and poured on the speed.

* * *

**Max POV-**

We were back at 'home base'. AKA, land of the sparkly undead. Onyx was constantly stretching her wings as they healed rapidly. She would be able to fly again soon.

"ONYX ONYX ONYX ONYX!!" Alice squealed as she came running through the door. "!!!" (Onyx you have a letter from Washington DC open it right now before I lose my mind!)

Onyx came running down the stairs, "Are you serious!?"

"YES!!!" Alice practically screamed, "Now open!" She thrust the letter into her hands.

Onyx tore it open then nearly passed out. Iggy caught her and set her back on her feet. "It says that… that the President read my letter to Congress!" She stammered

"_WHAT?!_" I demanded.

"I wrote it two years ago." Onyx muttered, "I sent them a freaking package, letters, photos, info about Itex, one of my feathers… anything to prove what I was and what Itex was doing to innocent people." She stammered.

"That's…" I started, kind of mad that she would risk her secret like that.

"Brilliant." Iggy breathed.

I nearly growled at him. Alice smirked knowingly and grabbed my hand, practically dragging me out of the room.

"What are you _doing!?_" I hissed at her.

"Giving Iggy the opportunity he's been waiting for since he met Onyx and found out what he looked like because he saw her against our white house." Alice said in one breath. My mouth hung open, Alice just grinned. "Mmm-hmm… Iggy likes her."

Huh… wha… Iggy… since when? Onyx… Iggy… likes… AAHHHHH!!!

* * *

"Brilliant." Iggy said, I beamed at him.

"Thanks." I said. He chuckled, and took my hand, I flinched slightly.

"Hmmm… you're more tan than Fang, but paler than Max." He said, with a slight smile.

"Huh?" I asked dumbly.

"Oh, I can feel colors, and see things if there's a white backdrop. For instance the first time I actually saw you with my eyes was when you flew at an Eraser in front of the Cullen's house with a baseball bat in your hands." He said.

"Oh." Was all I managed.

"Yeah," he laughed, "you looked like you were about to kill someone."

"I think I might have…" I whispered, and as the memory boiled up, I fought it back, suppressing the blinding rage and anger. Iggy hugged me, unexpectedly and I felt myself tense up. But, as soon as I had te4nsed, I started to relax. He's not scary, not an Eraser… he's _like me._ Two words that mean the world to me…

"It's alright Onyx," he said, "you had the right to be mad like that. Max get's like that. It's… normal among freaks." He said calmly.

"But I don't _want_ to hurt anyone." I managed.

Iggy stepped back and looked at me, eyes focused. White. Ah, White house, white walls, he was actually seeing me right now. "Really?" He asked, "You've never… just wanted to tear their heads off?"

"Well… I have, but I know that's wrong." I said seriously.

He stared at me. "You are so not like Max." He said.

I frowned, confused, "What does that mean-"

I was cut off suddenly when he leaned closer to me. My breath stuck to my throat. Thousands of thoughts raced through my head. What do I do? What… well, shit!

Very, very cautiously, I felt his lips brush against mine. My brain short circuited, and I had absolutely no common sense from that point on.

What would be a normal reaction for me?

Running

Screaming

Slapping

Flying away

All of the above

What did I do? I did nothing. I practically melted into his arms. It was sweat and… perfect. He cupped my chin with his hand carefully and tilted his head to kiss me better. It was blissful, and happy, and everything that my life hadn't been for the last fourteen years. Soon, to soon he pulled away. I was breathless.

"Onyx," he whispered, "Onyx, you are amazing. Unique. Kind, brave… "

"Thanks Ig." I murmured. My heart swelled. Iggy laughed quietly,

"Promise me you won't… you know, that you'll be careful of the fangs is I kiss you again?" He laughed. I smiled nervously,

"Iggy, do you honestly think I like having them anyways?" I asked, "Ick, I'm more like the stereotypical vampire than vampires are!"

Iggy snickered, "Aw, come on I think it's neat. It makes you unique." He said. I sighed heavily and flopped into the chair next to me.

"It makes me… even more different. Yeah, you could call it unique, but you could also call it the result of an experiment gone wrong." I said sadly.

"Nope." Iggy corrected, "Never. You're unique, not weird, everyone else is just jealous." He smiled, and clasped my hand with his, "Now, what is it that was some important in Washington?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "The President." I managed through breathless giggles.

"Ah, the President! You know, Angel met him."

"Really?" I asked, astounded.

"Yeah, she could have controlled his mind, and actually did… but in a good way." Iggy chuckled. I gaped,

"Wow."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he'll listen to you." Iggy said seriously.

"You think?"

"Yep, what are you gonna say?" He asked.

"Um…" I stammered, "I have absolutely no idea." I admitted after a pause.

"Well… maybe you should work on a speech." He suggested, I laughed, leaning back in the chair, resting my chin on my hands.

"And what do you propose I write the speech about?" I asked.

Iggy sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I don't know, what matters to you?" He asked.

"Um… what matters to me?" I repeated, considering the question. "Well, Itex being stopped matters, the lives of all the mutants matters, the fact that people working with Itex have positions in the government matters. The fact that kids die every day because Itex steals them, eaves nothing for the parents, and mutates the children so they can live lives not worth living matters." I huffed, rubbing my temples.

"Well then, let's get writing." Iggy smiled, handing me paper and a pen. I laughed.

* * *

**Max POV**-

Morning came early the next day. I dragged myself out of bed like a zombie and walked down the stairs.

"Awwww!!!" Alice squealed, walking into the living room. Iggy and Onyx were curled up on the couch, completely asleep. Iggy had his arms wrapped around Onyx, and her hand was curled loosely around a pen, while she clutched a packet of several papers with her other hand.

"So cute!" Alice sighed, twirling around.

"Yeah, it's kind of annoying. I'm never going to have her focus again." I grumbled.

Emmett ran down the stairs. "WAKE UP!!!" He hollered.

"_ACK!_" Iggy and Onyx jolted up, and promptly fell off the couch, landing in a tangled heap.

"Unmfgrup!" Onyx muttered incoherently. "Frick, why'd you wake us up?" She whined.

"'Cause we got a plane to catch." Alice smirked.

"REALLY?!" Onyx shrieked.

"Yeah, President Whittington sent it himself. We have to get to the airport!"

"Nuh-uh!" Onyx shook her head repeatedly, "No more planes! I refuse to get on another plane." She said seriously.

"Onyx, it's completely safe. The Vice-President will be there, no Itex, no jet malfunctions." I said, honestly I hated planes, but I needed her to get on that plane.

"No. Max, the last time I was on a plane, I was waking up to a scene of kids in a crash, most of them dead and bleeding. That's going to stay in my head for a while." She paused, "Max, I knew those kids, please, every time the word plane comes up… I see their faces." She shuddered.

I sighed heavily, "Look Onyx, you can't fly to Washington, it's a restricted air-traffic area, a no fly zone, they'll see you coming and shoot you down without even caring who you are. You have to come on the plane with us, it's the only way."

She chewed her lip for a moment, "Hmm… on the one hand, stay here and not by my cover, not face the armies of Itex, not put a big banner over my head telling them I'm still alive… and on the other hand, tin can jet, exposing myself to the public, and probably get attacked. But still… this speech we wrote…" She poked Iggy's shoulder, "is pretty darn good."

"So, that's a yes?" Iggy asked,

"Erm… sure, let's go with that." She was still uneasy, but she would come on the plane.

_Come, break me down,_

_Bury me, bury me,_

_I am finished with you._

The Kill- 30 Seconds to Mars

* * *

We're so sorry!!! We didn't update for such a long time… but WE HAD EXAMS!! Oh no, exams!!!! RUN AWAY WHILE YOU STILL CAN….

It's too late for me…

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	11. Chapter 10 Out of Left Field

Chapter 10- Out of Left Field

*Song- Thanks for Nothing: Sum 41/ Rooftops: The Lost Prophets

**Max POV-**

"_Private Flight 209- to Washington DC boarding now."_ The speakers had announced. I gathered up the flock, and we grabbed our small backpacks of gear. The Cullens smiled to themselves as we got ready, they wouldn't be coming with us, it was sort of… a bird kids have to do this themselves kind of things. This was our stand, and we're doing it alone.

"Goodbye Max, Onyx, Nudge, Angel…" Carlisle said, giving each one of us a brief hug.

"Iggy, Gazzy, Fang." Esme smiled at each one of them.

"Onyx," Edward said, Bella was behind him, we had met her briefly, "well… you are an amazing friend. And I hope everything goes well." He said.

"Wait!" Alice squeaked, "Max, you found out what Onyx's real name is, right?" She asked me,

"Well… yeah…" I said slowly, not sure where this is going.

"What is it!?" She pressed.

"Holy Jane Mason." I said, confused as to why she was so excited. Onyx doubled over in laughter, nearly falling over onto the floor. "What?" I demanded.

"That's… such… a girly… name!" She gasped between laughs. Alice smirked proudly and pointed at Edward. I looked over and realized he was staring, awestruck at Onyx. He looked like he'd seen a ghost… erm… well, you know that might actually be possible with all the weirdness… so he looked like he'd just seen a grizzly bear wearing a tutu. It's basically the universal 'WHAT THE F*CK?" expression. Onyx finally stopped laughing when she realized no one else was, and everyone was staring between her and Edward. "Erm…" she managed, "what?"

"You're… your last name is Mason?" Edward stammered. Onyx shrugged,

"Suppose so. What's the big deal."

Edward, in the blink of an eye, wrapped his arms around Onyx in a tight embrace. She squeaked unhappily. "Holly! You're Holly-Jane!" Edward said, almost sounding happy.

"Erm… okay, I'm Holy-Jane… put me down." Onyx said. Was it just us or did no one else find this really weird? I mean, all the pale-people looked really thrilled… but none of us got it. (Us= flock. Always.)

"No, you don't get it! I've been following my family line, which is _Mason_, and Holly-Jane was as far as I traced it, she's my great-niece!" He said suddenly. I think I just heard several jaws hit the floor. Onyx was pretty much frozen, looking at him like he had three heads.

"Oh… oh-kaaayyyy…" She drew the word out, blinking rapidly, "Um… yeah, so… well… cool." She muttered, and gave Edward a small hug, "But if you start calling me Holly-Jane you can start digging your own grave 'cause that name is just… bleh."

Laughter.

"Okay, breaking up the tea part, _let's go._" I said, grabbing Onyx's hand and dragging her with me.

* * *

"Iggy, stop playing with the goddamn armrest!" I snapped, after I heard it click for about the billionth time.

"But it's… addictive." He said slowly.

"I hate airplanes." Onyx muttered, shifting uncomfortably in her seat and glaring daggers out the closed window. The window is closed, but I'm not going to rain on her parade.

"We all do." I said, she sighed heavily and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Think about it this way, your wings are healed and if something does go wrong," her eyes flicked up with sudden worry, "which it _won't_, you can fly out of here."

She sat back and exhaled loudly, rubbing her eyes. "Thank you for reminding me to keep my grip on sanity." She said through a small yawn, picking up the Coca-Cola the flight attendant had recently given her. I had downed mine in almost one gulp, their good ya' know?

Anyone ever notice how addictive those things are? I mean, I doesn't quench your thirst. It makes you more thirsty, and you want more Coke! And they just taste soooooo good! I mean, hand me a Coke and a cheeseburger and I'd fly to Washington for you… wait, that's already happening folks, thanks for paying attention!

"Hello," a cool voice said from behind me, making me jump a little, "I'm Senator Lauren Jameson, the President sent me to talk to you guys on the plane. Which one of you is Onyx?" She asked.

She was about forty looking, and wore an _ugly_ black suit with, god forbid, sensible shoes! I mean, seriously, why don't you just tattoo 'I have no social life!' across your forehead. Plus, her hair was pulled back into a to-neat pony-tail and she had to-business-like glasses on.

"Yeah, that'd be me." Onyx said through a yawn.

"Well, can you tell me about your speech?" The Over-Achieving Senator asked.

"Nope." Onyx said stiffly. Ms. Over-Achiever looked perplexed,

"Why not?" She asked,

Onyx rolled her eyes and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Plane seat were not designed for bird kids. "Because one of my main rules in life is to not trust adults who dress like they've got enough money to be part of Itex." She sniffed. _SCORE!_ I thought to myself. Senator Over-Achiever looked a bit angry.

"The proper name is Itexicon, Itex is merely the smaller branch that deals with genetics."

Well. That made me sit up a little straighter in my seat.

"And you know this… because?" Onyx asked, her eyes darkening.

Just a thought-

When things go bad, things go bad fast. There's no warning, there's just a tiny little, _oh hey look I'm about to go bad so fast that I'm telling you this as the train barrels down the tracks towards you and you realize you can't move your feet._ Just a little tid-bit of information.

"I read it, looked it up after Maximum's speech." The Senator quickly recovered.

"Maximum?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's your name."

"Sure… but in my speech, I said my name was Max. Max Ride." My eyes narrowed and I leaned forward, something here stank like rotten treason.

"Yeah, and I don't remember the Prez saying anything about you coming to pick us up." Onyx put in, "Or anyone mentioning that Itex dealt with genetics! Max's speech was about taking care of the planet!"

Senator Suspicious leaned back in her chair, "Hmm… I suppose that's true. Well then, I guess you might want to look out your windows." She smiled a little.

I crawled over past Iggy and slid the plane's window cover open, outside, the coast was still visible. The west coast, we haven't been going east at all! We were just going south!

"You see, I've worked a long time to get into the Senate, because I knew one of you would make the move to try to send the President a letter. I just didn't think I'd get all of you together. That was an unexpected bonus." She said.

"Whitecoat!" Onyx hissed through her teeth.

"Oh very good Falcon! Congratulations, you've figured me out… But you must realized, you're to late. You were to late the second the doors on this plane sealed shut."

I jumped to my feet, "Well you're the stupidest Senator alive! Because we still got wings, U AND A, BREAK THAT DOOR OPEN!" I shouted, running for the plane door. Fang was the first to get there, the big bright emergency handle clasped in his hands.

"Jump straight down!" Onyx yelled, "Or you'll get sucked into the engine!"

Mental note to self- Onyx knows a lot about planes, if I ever find myself in need of a pilot, elect her.

Just as Fang shoved the door open, three Flyboys burst from the cabin area, the ones with guns built into their arms. "JUMP _NOW!"_ Fang roared as they set their sights on us. Angel went first, then Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge, Onyx looked at me sternly.

"You first missy, I can drive this thing if I need to." She said, I gave her a _we are talking about this later_ look before jumping. Fang was right behind me, and I heard Onyx jump right after him. We tumbled in free fall, holding our breath because the air was too damn thin.

It wasn't that long before I realized that we had company, a lot of company. Twelve fighter-jets to be precise. That's when it hit me, this was it. Itex was done playing, they wanted us back _for good_. They'd staged a flight, offered us Cokes, while in the mean time they had their own pilots with their shiny jets tailing us all the way to Colorado. The thought did two unique and familiar things to me.

My veins iced over with adrenaline while fury made my blood scream in my ears. As the rocketing sound of jets grew louder, I realized they were diving, swerving towards us. "YO!" I shouted into the clouds, "DIVE! Straight down, avoid the jets, at all costs! Loose them in the trees, re-group at nearest sheltered relay point ASAP!" I barked out the orders.

Just as I said that, a silver jet streaked beneath me, and I swerved to avoid it, my feathers just clipped the cockpit and I was face to face with the pilot for a split second.

_PING!_

"Onyx, cool it with the gun!" I snapped. She looked up at me as we tumbled through the air.

"Wasn't me!" She said, hands up, then, she gritted her teeth and aimed straight for one of the planes, "But it sure as hell can be now!" From her pocket, she pulled out the small hand gun she had nicked from the school and pulled the trigger twice. The two shots rang out and whacked into the cockpit of one of the jets.

So… things are back to normal. Back to kicking ass and flying for our lives. In a way it's a relief, this is predictable, familiar. Onyx whirled around and dove out of the way as the plane spun past her.

"Take them done, guys!" I shouted into the clouds, "Or they'll tail us to Washington!"

"We're still going?" Onyx shouted up to me.

"Well hell yeah we're still going! You think I'd let you back out of that speech just because of a few paper-plane wannabes?" I said, cracking my knuckles.

So much for 'losing the planes' I wanted these suckers to go up in flames.

I turned to the closest plane and hovered above it. Onyx and I had talked about the times Itex had come after her. Because of her speed, Onyx had the luxury of being chased by planes most of her life. She knew how to take them down to. And when I say take them down, I mean… _take them down_. Onyx was a little less hesitant to use deadly forced than I was, and turns out the girl had owed a couple guns. She insisted it was justified because we had each other to protect ourselves, and she had the weapons. If she had nothing, she'd be a lot less safe than we were because we had each other.

"I've done this before," I heard Onyx growl, "What makes you think I won't do it again?"

She had punched through the glass and was practically inside the jet, holding the pilot by his collar.

"Onyx!" I shouted, "Shake and drop, no time for chit-chat!" I said. 'Shake and drop' was her term for a quick attack that disabled the enemy. I liked it, it worked for me. She looked up at me,

"Max, they have info! About _me_, my parents who I am!" I could see the determination in her eyes.

"NO TIME!" I shouted. I wasn't kidding. This was an order, we had to move, "There's eleven,"

_!!!!!_

"ten," I corrected myself, "other planes, we'll have time later if we're still alive!" With two hard strokes of my wings, I peeled off to left and went after one of the smallest planes. I know, I know, you're all probably going, _but Max, aren't they all the same size?_ No. They're not, so shut up and sit down.

I sped up, and dropped down to the plane's height, grabbing the tail and stabilizing myself before I started getting to work. I stepped closer to the wing, and pulled a rock out of my pocket. Why, yes, I did have a rock in my pocket, because I thought it might come in handy. The thing was grapefruit sized, so guess what happened when I threw it into the big, rotating, jet engine?

Yeah, boom.

I dove, pushing of the plane and accelerating towards the ground with super speed. The explosion didn't touch me, but the pressure wave and gust of heat knocked me to one side and I nearly collided with Nudge. Grabbing her with one arm, I pulled her out of the way as debris rained down. "Holding up?" I asked. She nodded and I let go as we split, avoiding another flaming plane.

There was a sudden, high pitched whirring noise and it was followed by another concussive sound.

"GET DOWN!" Iggy shouted, diving lower into the clouds.

Not even a split second later, I saw the cause of the sound. Onyx was sailing through the sky, wings a blur they were moving so fast, the plane hot on her tail.

"Jesus, how fast is she going?!" Gazzy blurted out,

"Dunno, how fast do planes go?" Iggy asked.

Onyx was sure going fast, that's for sure, dipping, whirling, turning, zipping in and out of clouds, and spiraling, basically every evasive move you can think of, but she couldn't shake the plane. Onyx twirled through the air, turning around and waiting for the plane. As it whistled past her, she grabbed it with her left hand, pulling herself around so she was facing the pilot. I didn't miss the momentary smile that flashed across her face as she slammed her fist into the glass, cracking it.

Another plane zipped over head, the gust of wind knocking Onyx sideways. She dropped straight down out of the air, wings tucked against her back. The plane followed.

**Onyx POV-**

Some people don't know when to give up. I saw Max and the others zipping around, avoiding planes while at the same time watching me. Stage fright much?

The plane was still following me, it was the small one Max was working on before. I'm just figuring out that smaller planes go faster than bigger planes… so yeah, f my life.

I flipped over in mid air, facing the plane and pulled out the gun. I know, I know, bad Onyx, there's a no gun policy! Well, honey the 'no gun policy' went out the door when they sent the planes. Honestly, it was depressing to fight them because people died. When the planes exploded or went down, I always looked to see if there was a parachute. Sometimes I saw one, sometimes I didn't and I have to live with the fact that I killed people.

Then I have to remind myself who they are, what they did to me, and what they're still doing to other innocent kids.

I fired off three rounds, the first to pinging off the glass the second penetrating through and the glass of the cockpit explode with the sudden decompression. The pilot ejected, and the plane went down. Three more explosions alerted me that Angel had tricked several pilots into flying into each other.

I reached out and grabbed the pilot, "Alright scumbag," I snarled, "tell me who hired you!"

"Itex!"

"I'm not an idiot!" I snapped, "I mean the _person!_ The person who I will personally kick from here until Germany!"

"The School…" the pilot choked out, "The School hired us! Not Itex, the school! To get you back!"

"Tell. Me. Who." I growled lowly.

"Randle!" He gasped out. Shock hit me like a wrecking ball.

"No…"

_Rrrrrrrrriiipppppp!_

The pilot's seatbelt ripped away and he plummeted downwards, until pulling his parachute. At the same time I noticed that the jets were flying circles around us, cornering me and the flock in the air.

"Max!" I screamed as one turned towards her. She looked up and I saw her eyes go wide as the plane zeroed in.

_WHHHHOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHHHHH!_

A blue and silver jet zoomed forward, not one of the Itex jets. The other plane turned away, narrowly missing Max. Six other jets soared into the battle field, all sporting the stars and stripes of the USA on their tails. The air force was here.

I punched the air, "GO AMERICA!" I twirled around in the air and flew up to the jet leading the triangle formation, landing lightly on its wing and glaring out at the two remaining planes beneath me. I glanced over at the air-force pilot dressed in all green with a black helmet on. I winked and snapped him a quick salute before leaping forward and accelerating at the very edge of my speed ability, nudging out the planes and passing them.

I closed in, and I could practically feel the US jets breathing down my neck in anticipation. "IGGY!" I yelled, and he turned, throwing me a small black object. Catching it as I collided with the plane I slammed it into the glass, and as it cracked the pilot started to panic. I stuck the tiny explosive inside the plane and waved, "Sayonara, sucker!" I chuckled, not able to resist and jumped.

My breathing was ragged, my chest was heaving and my blood was screaming in my ears, the adrenaline pulsing through me like lightening. Adrenaline highs were a part of the avian-hybrid life style my friends, I've been chased by people, mutants, people and mutants with _guns_, boats, cars, trucks, motorcycles, planes and even boats… long story behind the boat one, you don't need to know. I slipped down into the clouds and glided up on the air currents. The flock was flying steadily in time with the US fighter jets who had slowed down significantly for us. I settled on the wing of the leading plane and yawned, man I was beat. I heard Max land on the other wing.

"Sure beats flying against the wind, doesn't it?" She smirked at me, relaxing into the wing of the plane as the poor pilot looked a bit distressed.

"Yeah, you know I figure these guys only heard there were a bunch of unmarked jets and came to investigate. Then the y saw the carnage…" I trailed off with a loud yawn, "Wonder what the air force is gonna say when they figure out that a bunch of kids took down a dozen planes."

"I love this country." Max smirked as the planes continued towards the east. We were making great time, I mean, I had a little 'discussion' with the pilot so that all of us could ride in the back seat of the planes. (Discussion meaning Angel was involved) and they were willing to take us back to Washington D.C., which incidentally is a no-fly zone.

So, you know, once we got to D.C. our fighter jet group was joined by more fighter jets wondering why we were flying over D.C. Man those planes went _fast!_ The speed of an average commercial airliner is under five hundred miles per hour, speed of sound? 761 mph. Speed of these fighter jets? Mach two, that's twice the speed of sound people! I've only barely nosed the speed of sound, I envy these guys.

So there was a long radio-conversation and finally we were escorted to the air-force base just outside of D.C. The place was way to clean for my tastes. As the planes landed, we all got jolted forward from the sudden deceleration. I prefer winging it. Literally. Like, using my wings, get it? Get it? Never mind.

"Maximum Ride and Onyx Falcon I assume." Mr. Sparkly Clean General said.

"Um… actually my name is Onyx, Falcon is a nickname, not a last name. It's be like if you called someone Isabel Izzy, you know?" I said, rolling my eyes. "But yeah, she's Max, I'm Onyx."

"You talk too much." Max mouthed at me.

"I know." I sighed.

"General Zander," Mr. Sparkly Clean said, "I have special orders from the commander in chief to make sure you have a safe stay here until tomorrow when you will be transported to D.C."

"Cool." Nudge said.

"What's the commander in chief?" I sniffed. Mr. Sparkly Clean's jaw dropped and he stared at me like I was an idiot.

"The president." Max said, "Where have you been for the last fourteen years?"

"In a cage." I said back with a small laugh. All in all, it wasn't so bad. I mean, we got nice beds and the room was heated and tomorrow looked good.

But when I woke up tomorrow, I couldn't see how it looked at all. Why? Because there was a burlap sac around my head and my hands were tied together.

* * *

DUH DUH DUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Chana- Please, please, please, please, PLEASE REVIEW!

Akari- And we're sorry for not updating, we had school and training for skiing over Thanksgiving! We promise to update, but now that ski season is in full swing it might take a little longer, don' give up on us!

Chana- And we're also sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes!

Akari- Go easy on us, English is way harder than you think it is!

Chana- She means it's not our first language; she just has an inability to say what she means.

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